"She went out of the kitchen, beginning to run. She tried to undo the knot of her apron. He went after her. He looked different, like he'd been caught doing something. They left me alone. I didn't know what had happened. I didn't know what I'd done. They came back. They didn't say anything." Page 53.

"I couldn't do it. I didn't even know what hank Williams was singing. Da hit me. On the shoulder; I was looking at him, about to tell him that I didn't want to sing this one; it was too hard." Page 88.

"Running through the pipe was the most frightening brilliant thing I'd ever done." Page 106.

"I knew what Paddy meant, what she meant the way she'd said Paddy. So did Sinbad. So did Catherine, the way she stared up at my ma and then, sometimes, my da. He stopped. He took two breaths...