“To write and not tell the truth? That would be death for any writer. But more, it would be death to the imagination. And if the imagination dies, what would happen to the souls of children?”

“What would they do if I said I hurt so much I feel like I want to die?—Jeremy Richards”

“Dying ain't important. Everyone does that. What's important is how well you do your living.”

“Perhaps one of the writer's tasks is to weave himself into others' pain.”

“I write because the lives of all of us are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details.”

“While the subject matter is lynching, on a deeper level, this novel is about identity. Whom and what we identify ourselves with determines our characters, determines who we are, and what we do.”

“How can I love you if I don't know what hurts you?”