Felicia McDonnell’s Reviews > Hell of a Book > Status Update

I wasn’t born when all of that slavery shit happened. I wasn’t even a twinkle in somebody’s eye. And you, you weren’t never a slave. You weren’t never nobody’s property. Me and you, we went to the same school. Grew up just as broke. We lived the same life but I get to carry around all of the guilt.

“It’s sadness that sits at the bedrock of all of the anger these people feel everyday. Sadness at being left behind and left out of so much of what everyone else seems to have in this country.”

“Ain’t willful ignorance a hell of a thing?”

“I’m not sure Black people can be happy in this world.there’s just too much backstory of sadness …life always comes thru with those reminders letting you know …you’re just a part of an exploited people and a denied destiny and all you can do is hate your past and, by proxy, hate yourself.”

She explains that many parents like him beat their children because they are terrified and just want their children to be safe. The fear that Black parents feel about their children being in danger is all-consuming. parents beat their children because they would rather be the ones to give their children pain than have them receive it from the outside world.

“You see, the thing those fablers don’t get is that certain kids don’t get a fair chance to chase the dream. The world murders them first. Murders them, but fails to kill them. So these kids, they die young and grow a little more mad every day from then on out.”

“Dear Mr. Lord of War: The whole world of my life spins under a radiant marquee of fear. Day in and day out it kills me, over and over and over again. Kills me dead, just to restart it all tomorrow. And all I can do about it is tell people that I’m fine. Thanks for reading.”

The phrase "Americae excommunicatus" (Latin for "excommunicated America" or "the excommunicated American") appears in academic and literary contexts to describe the marginalization or exclusion of Black Americans as the ultimate "American Other" outside of standard temporal and human structures.

When Jack meets the first-person narrator, he asks, “You’re Black?” to which the narrator responds, “I am” (89).

He’s talking about nostalgia and an impactful incident. “That’s what I call “nowstalgia “. When you know a time in your life is gonna last forever, even before the moment is over.”