5 Quotes by Meredith Hall

It is true that my shunning was a message from our community to my mother. Her rejection of me was a measure of the humiliation she felt. She believed until her death that I caused her to lose her friends and her stature in the town.

The past lies beneath the surface, intransigent truth. Remembered or not, what we say and do remains, always.

We must protect the girls," Mrs. Kroehne said. "You understand." I do understand. I am a contaminant and must be kept silent. It has been three months since my baby was born, three months since I walked away from my baby with milk dripping from my breasts. I will not say this to any of these young people during my time among them. I will construct careful lies and memorize them to explain myself, my dark inward life, my hunger for love, my tough resistance to trust.

I didn’t make this plan. I just wake up sometimes and want to crawl out of my life.

The lights come on and my future returns in the glare.