“I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment, I was an effective voice of the voiceless, an effective hope of the hopeless.”

“Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: oxygen and books.”

“But I think mostly it's your eyes. I want something from them no one else gets from them.' 'And what's that?' I asked, my voice low, almost hoarse. His words had affected me as deeply as any aphrodisiac.'Soft.' His own voice had deepened with the highly sexual atmosphere. 'Soft the way only a woman's can be after she's come for me.”

“Do you want to tell me why I'm getting the silent treatment?' He asked gruffly, his breath hot on my ear. I hunched up my shoulders, pulling away. His voice had an effect on my body and I didn't want him to know that. 'I'm talking to you.''Barely.''I've got a lot on my mind.''Do you want to talk about it?''When have I ever wanted to talk about it?”

“I have to believe in myself. I have to be my biggest advocate or I would crumble.”

“In this moment I'm not defined by the other things, the things that happened to me, the things I didn't choose. This is the part of me that defines for all time, for always. The thing I choose completely.”

“She leans over an says things that make him throw his head back an laugh like he never heard nuthin so funny in his life. It's sick-makin. Or it would be, if I cared. Which I don't. Liar, whispers the voice inside my head. Liar, liar, liar.”