"He didn't believe in slumber parties or sock hops, which wasn't a big concern, as I never got invited to them anyway, but he refused to drive me to town for football games, pep rallies, or beta club car washes, which were held on Saturdays. He did not care that I wore clothes I made for myself in home economics class, cotton print shirtwaists with crooked zippers and skirts hanging below my knees, outfits only the Pentecostal girls wore. I might as well have worn a sign on my back: I Am Not Popular, and Never Will Be." (Page 10, Chapter 1)

"Your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she'd come back to get her things, that's all.

"God and Jesus, you make him take it back.

"The memory settled over me. The suitcase on the floor. The way they'd fought. My shoulders began to...