Quotes

"Dad was holding her[Mom] by the arms while she tried to hit him in the face" (71). "I pushed the needle and felt a slight tug when it pierced the skin. I wanted to closed my eyes, but I needed to see. I pushed a little harder and felt the resistance of Dad's flesh. It was like sewing meat. It //was// sewing meat." (169) "At night Mom and Dad always left the front door and the back door and all the windows open." (102) "Dad took my[Jeannette] hand and slowly guided it to the side of the cheetah's neck." (108) "She pushed me[Jeannette] in the chest, and I fell backward. I tried to get up, but all three girls started kicking me. I rolled away into a puddle, shouting for them to quit and hitting back at the feet coming at me from all sides. The other girls had closed in a circle around us and none of the teachers could see what was going on. There was no stopping those girls until they'd had their fill" (139). "I thought a strong woman would be able to manage Dad" (208). "I[Jeannette] smelled the burning and heard a horrible crackling as the fire singed my hair and eyelashes" (9). "The next time they visited, Brian's head was wrapped in a dirty white bandage with dried bloodstains. Mom said he had fallen off the back of the couch and cracked his head open on the floor, but she and Dad had decided not to take him to the hospital" (13).