Zora Neale Hurston

"But it was still a form of freedom."

"I stood in the center of my own truth and refused to be moved."

"The South had taught me the things that comprised my being."

"You can't just stay put, you have to keep moving."

"She had a little house by a big river."

"Folk are folk all over; everybody acts a fool when they fall in love."

"Hold your head and your heart as high as the heavens."

"The book was closed—my story was done."

"I laughed and put my heart in my words."

"Every grain of sand holds the memory of the ocean."

"There is no greater tragedy than a life unlived."

"We have all passed through waters and emerged transformed."

"The greatest battle is won in the silence of one's own soul."

"Write about yourself as if you are someone else."

"The rhythm of life is the rhythm of survival."

"I came to understand the power of telling one's own story."

"But the truth will always find its way out."

"I have learned to live with ghosts—the ghosts of the past and the ghosts of what could have been."

"The only thing worse than being an outsider is pretending you belong."

"The most beautiful thing God ever made was a woman's laugh."

"Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place."

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

"Every tub sits on its own bottom."

"I have a right to stand on my feet and look the world in the face."

"Research is a big word that scares a lot of people."

"If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other folks, then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding."

"I want a busy life, a just mind, and a timely death."

"There is no greater thing than to love and be loved in return."

"Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat."

"The gods who create frequently are all of the masculine gender."