40 Quotes by Daniel Abbott

Accountability is the only real beginning to change.

Even the southeast side of Grand Rapids must bow to the beauty of a Michigan fall.

Iggy had only heard whispers, but the truth isn’t something bellowed—the truth is found in the wind, in the cracks of the concrete, in the eyes of people not saying a word, not trying to plead their case. The truth is silent and loud. And the truth about Cesar Bolden is if you cross him you come up missing, no evidence, no leads, you end up gone like you were never there at all.

The city yawns and stretches. A lazy Sunday morning opens its eyes. Cesar’s always loved it down here. The water flowing beneath him. The city surrounding the ancient river. A bright green canopy of trees far off in the distance. Cesar’s always appreciated the beauty. He’s always thought it was a perfect juxtaposition of urban and God.

Because the worst hurt in the world is losing your father’s love. The worst hurt in the world is watching his eyes change when he looks at you. When the marriage trudges forward but the family gets divorced. And your mother can’t stand you for telling on her. And your father resents you for being the one who found out. And they both, in their own ways, move on without you.

Where the concrete kept his pain at bay, the page gave his pain a place to go.

Cars slowed down as they passed. White drivers with white passengers. White parents with white children, watching. Not seeing, I imagine, three innocent black boys being harassed by racist police officers. Seeing three black criminals being brought to justice. Young minds being shaped into wrong thinking. Generational ignorance being reinforced through misconstrued observation.

If you ask Denny, he will tell you: "I'm a patriot. I love my country." A country that doesn't love him back. Doesn't love him black. A patriot. Let that register. A black patriot. In a country that won't acknowledge that Black Lives Matter.

A crack rock-bottom is beneath rock-bottom. It’s a slab ceiling in every direction. A concrete box filled with guilt. During the chase you’re focused. The only thing that exists is the fix. Your mind is lost in the now, in the journey. Your life, everyone you’re hurting, everything you left behind, it all quiets down until you find this bottom, this moment of clarity. And when you find it the guilt is upon you. There’s nowhere to go. Not until the fix frees you.