“There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.”

“Hail to thee, Alabama, thou verdant trollop!”

“Hail to thee Alabama, you verdant trollop.”

“God gave us crying so other folks could see when we needed help, and help us.”

“This is what Liza knows: People go under. They fall off the world, they go beneath and drown and die. Sometimes, nothing saves you…Liza knows how black the world is, how fast it spins, and how you have to take the taste of apples and the smell of your little girl’s orange zest shampoo where you find them. You have to hold these things and strive, always, for one more word and one more step. You push forward and you fight, for as long as ever you can, until the black world spins and the moon pulls the tide and the water rises up and takes you.”

“It was more like when I was little and used to run everywhere for the sheer fun of fast moving.”

“I would take today's joy, and tomorrow's. I would take it with both hands, anywhere it came.”