Recalling the aftermath of her father's death from alcoholism at age 42, this memoirist reminisces: I couldn't deny that our life was so much better now, but I did miss him. For all the misery he caused, I knew with certainty that he loved us. Those aren't things you can weigh or measure away. ... They're not opposites that cancel each other out. They're both true at the same time.

I think being a Catholic made me a better person. It taught me how to choose good over evil, and how to be a more caring human being.

The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.

I think there's a large segment of the mainland population that does not really understand the number of territories that are part of the United States.

In examining witnesses, I learned to ask general questions so as to elicit details with powerful sensory associations: the colors, the sounds, the smells that lodge an image in the mind and put the listener in the burning house.

Without question, so many people, throughout my life, never think of Puerto Rico as part of the United States.

Until we reach equality in education, we can't reach equality in the larger society.