“A pause while my mother made high-pitched sisterly devotions of gratitude.”

“The gasoline flowing through the pump made a high pitched sound, as if the screaming of my family was still dissolved in it" [p.181].”

“Real devotion is an unbroken receptivity to the truth. Real devotion is rooted in an awed and reverent gratitude, but one that is lucid, grounded, and intelligent.”

“I closed my mouth in order to cut off the high-pitched keening escaping my lips. Who knew a wolf could scream like a jungle cat?”

“To pitch here is to live. People pitch their kids into good schools, pitch offers on houses they can’t afford, and when they’re caught in the arms of the wrong person, pitch unlikely explanations. Hospitals pitch birthing centers, daycares pitch love, high schools pitch success . . . car dealerships pitch luxury, counselors self-esteem, masseuses happy endings, cemeteries eternal rest . . . It’s endless, the pitching—endless, exhilarating, soul-sucking, and as unrelenting as death. As ordinary as morning sprinklers.”

“~Awakened, made it throughthe veils of pitch,threaded with wars, flags andtribal intolerance; fixedon the horizons of my mind~”