"I'm thankful for all the things that this job has given me and my family. But probably the thing that I am most proud of throughout my career is that, not only myself, but my family and the people around me have just been regular people, which we are."

"People say a mother is only as happy as her least happy child. But what if the state of that child's happiness has become a mystery? What if that child is no longer a child but a young man who has removed himself to a great distance and encased himself in silence?"

"Marriage is a core component of the patriarchal system. According to Gerda Lerner's research on ancient societies, a woman could achieve at least some status, and with that, better treatment and privileges, through preserving her only capital – her virginity – and eventually offering it to just one man."

"I had no idea of the size of my bank account as a teen, and I didn't care to know. That was my mom's job, I figured that I would just find out when I turned 18. If you can't trust your mom, then who can you trust?"

"On the line beside Describe your family, I wrote, 'Bad.'What is your favorite subject in school? 'None.'List three of your favorite activities. 'Soccer, ballet, and fighting.'Two of those favorite activities were lies but one of them was the truth.I am fond of fighting."

"And sometimeswhen she does remember,she calls me her little angeland she knows where she isand everything is all rightfor a second or a minuteand then we cry;she for the life that she lostI for the woman I only know about through the stories of her children."

"There's a lot of conflict and darkness inside everybody's family. We all pretend to outsiders that it's not so, but behind locked doors, there are usually high emotions running."

"My parents got me a sewing machine for Christmas during my senior year of high school. I made three pieces of clothing and had a fashion show at the end of the year, where we had to wear the clothes that we made. I took it to a whole new level; I made all my friends clothes."