Stamford, Connecticut

Owens' connection to Connecticut begins with her grandfather meeting her grandmother here. In this house where Owens spent much of her childhood, she describes a strict schedule, rules, responsibilities, and prayer. This middle-class neighborhood was in strict contrast to her home across town in a "run-down, roach-infested building" (14). Her grandparents insisted that her family move in with them, and Owens describes this as "one of the greatest blessings of my life" (14). Although her time with her grandparents was formative in creating foundational values in faith and family, Owens describes that she longed to be "cool and liked and normal" once she entered high school (23). Although the values that he grandparents had instilled would be corroded, Owens would eventually return to them.

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville is where Owens' grandfather was born; here, he experienced the segregation of Jim Crow. At five years old, he had to...