"My mother died two weeks after my birth with five doctors at her bedside. She was only thirty years old and I have no idea what she looked like."
Chap. 3, p. 24

"Come to us and beg for your tram fare and we might give it to you, but you have to learn that tram fare is not a birthright. We'll only give it if you show enough repentance."
Chap. 6, p. 51

"After desperate struggles, right would triumph over might, and victory invariably went o the champions of the underdog. These books gave me hope."
Chap. 6, p. 54

"One day, I was going to be a famous writer? Banker? Scientist? Doctor? Anyway, a famous 'something.'"
Chap. 6, p. 62

"The breakfast egg, more than anything, divided us into two distinct and transparent groups: the loved ones and the unloved ones. Needless to say, I remained eggless throughout my tenure at Sacred Heart...