Toni Morrison

"I am determined to take this life seriously."

"When you wonder why you are here, you're the reason."

"Nothing ever goes away."

"Memory, yes. Memory. I was telling you that."

"Sisterhood is powerful."

"We are never free."

"I guess that's what love does: it makes you want to design a different future."

"There is really nothing more to say, except why."

"You can't never go back."

"What you do comes back around."

"The work must be done."

"There are two things I know for sure."

"Being somebody's mother is heroic."

"Tell all the truth but tell it slant."

"Time is a resource, not money."

"I must believe I am not powerless."

"Hold on to your dreams."

"It matters. To the dead it still matters."

"We can't heal what we don't acknowledge."

"There is something called grace."

"The authority I assert for myself will be questioned."

"Words matter. They matter a lot."

"I will be merciful to the ones I love."

"We are more than our pain."

"I need to hear your voice in the mornings."

"Not knowing is all right."

"To be alone is to know yourself."

"Justice and peace are like an endangered species."

"I am a writer."

"What's important is finding your own voice."