“The RoadLife isn't a destinationIt's a journey.But you gotta be heading somewhereor you're just a mousegoing round.Even ifthe place you wind up isn't the place you where bound”

“they say money changes you. it isn't true. it changes everybody around you.”

“listening to Pastor Bob talk about mercy and redemption, I am filled with hope. Not the kind of expectation that comes from knowing you can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, but the trust that comes from utter failure, from knowing you are pathetic and small and you’ve got no place to look but up.”

“People look at me and say I've got it all,But when you're standing at the top you've gotA log, long way yo fallAnd tell me if i doCan i depend on you?Will you be the manWho will catch me if you can?'Cause I'm fallin' hardI'm fallin' fastAnd i gotta knowIf it's gonna last.You're the one i needTo teach me to believe”

“What happened?”“I tried to be somebody different from who I am and it didn’t work out.”“The world ain’t set up that way. Folks say we oughta be better than we are, but deep down they just want us to stay in our places. With our own kind.Messes up the natural order, otherwise.”

“It is hard to believe that a place this small can hold so much hate, and I have the terrible feeling I’ve only just seen the surface.”

“Did you know that seventy-five to eighty percent of juvenile offenders can’t read at grade level?”“Really?” This was news to me.“Your world becomes a much smaller place if you can’t read. You have far fewer options. It’s not the only factor, but it’s a big one. If they want to know how big to build a prison,all they have to do is look at the illiteracy statistics.”“They knew I was coming.”“You or someone like you.”“You knew it too, all those years ago, back in Quincy. That’s why you tried to help me. Because you knew I was coming here.”“Here or someplace like here.”