“Programming went back to the beginning of time. It was a little like the midden out back of his father's castle.”

“Time passes and the pain begins to roll in and out as though it’s a woman standing at an ironing board, passing the iron back and forth, back and forth across a white tablecloth.”

“He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.”

“Striving to meet my father's expectations is like climbing out of quicksand: the harder I try to get to the top, the more I'm sucked back down by his unrelenting criticism.”

“I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skills is their capacity to escalate.”

“from Assata's time cooking at the free breakfast program for kids:One little girl came over to me and tapped me on the back. 'There's something wrong with your pancakes.''What's wrong with them?''They don't taste good.”