"Her tone implied that moral turpitude was responsible for pies with tapioca or cornstarch." (p. 1)

"I scooped out a well in the center for the gravy, and she took care to pour it into the depression." (p. 1)

"Taking up his fork, he reached across and dragged the tines through my potatoes, laying waste to the dam." (pp. 1-2)

'"It's just like our house that doesn't get built," she cried. "You sit there eating pie and smirking. Everything is a joke. All my plans," she choked, "are funny, aren't they?"' (p. 6)

"Their running jokes carried over from meeting to meeting, embroidered and appliquéd with fresh fabric and threads at each gathering until a complex tapestry of humor joined them in a tight sisterhood of group memory." (p. 7)

"I was like someone preparing for citizenship in another country—terrified I would be found unworthy." (p. 26)

"I...