Bailey Brett Williams

“My Mormon family had turned our eyes from the billboard Marlboro cowboys above the Kanawha River Railroad, peeling and stained with coal dust. We shuddered and said, “Be simple concerning things that are evil.” And boy, was I. The girl raised Mormon declined the joint but tried a cigarette, and I put the wrong end in my mouth.”
― Bailey Brett Williams, Hollow: A Memoir of My Body in the Marines

“Through running I was in my own way participating. When I ran and the coastal wind roved over my sweaty skin I felt deeply okay. Yes, I was an exercise addict. I was also—blindly, wordlessly—seeking God. Whatever lives we lead, there is a door to grace. I didn’t need to throw my body against it like a battering ram, as I did; I was still so many miles from knowing that softness would do better.”
― Bailey Brett Williams, Hollow: A Memoir of My Body in the Marines