Jessica

“In my mind's eye, my chess pieces had grown into lines of dark-skinned men marching forward, being beaten by a white army and crumpling one by one into my father's waiting arms, bloodstains blossoming across their shoulders. (32)”
― Padma Venkatraman, Climbing the Stairs

“There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“The way you get meaning into life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. (43)”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

“People don't become what they were brought up to be, people become themselves. (p.146)”
― Sarah Schulman