Doubt is the big machine. It grinds up the delusions of women and men.

There are really only two ways to react to the extraordinary. The first is to ponder the grand purpose until all the fun is sucked away, the second is to enjoy it.

Doubt is the big machine. It grinds up the delusions of women and men.

A little style is a good thing, but you can’t trust a person who won’t be ugly in front of you.

Empathy is what separates human beings from teenage boys.

The poor aren't defeated. We're domesticated.

Jesmyn Ward is an alchemist. She transmutes pain and loss into gold. Men We Reaped illustrates hardships but thankfully, vitally, it's just as clear about the humor, the intelligence, the tenderness, the brilliance of the folks in DeLisle, Mississippi. A community that's usually wiped off the literary map can't be erased when it's in a book this good.