You Could Not Be Filled With Hate

Like A Medical Procedure,' Ruth Said. 'intricate Surgery Is Needed To Patch Up The Planet.

Tess Was My First Experience Of A Woman Who Had Inhabited Her Weirdness, Moved Into The Areas Of Herself That Made Her Distinct From Those Around Her, And Learned How To Display Them Proudly.

I Was Trying To Prove To Them And To Myself That I Was Still Who I Had Always Been. I Was Beautiful, If Fat. I Was Smart, If Loud. I Was Good, If Ruined.

Out Loud I Said I Had Two Children. Silently I Said Three. I Always Felt Like Apologizing To Her For That.

I Watched My Brother And My Father. The Truth Was Very Different From What We Learned In School. The Truth Was The Line Between The Living And The Dead Could Be, It Seemed, Murky And Blurred.