“Hattie had never been easy to love. She was too quiet, it was impossible to know what she was thinking. And she was angry all of the time and so disdainful when her high expectations weren't met.” — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“In one of the novel’s most dramatic and revealing chapters, Hattie leaves August with the older children and escapes with baby Ruthie (then called… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
I think being consistent is really important. In the arts there's a misconception that you sit around waiting for the muse to come, and… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
I think of my success as a kind of fluke. How else could I possibly think of it? And although it's a banal thing… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
You have to find a way of shutting the future out and focusing on the writing. One of the problems I'll have with writing… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
I'm wary of being put in boxes. But at the same time, it's important that I embrace my identity as a writer who happens… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“Half of what’s wrong with people today is that they ain’t got no place to go that makes them peaceful. I don’t reckon you… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“Bell lifted her hand to her chest. Her heart beat so quickly. She was floating out on a tide of agony, and soon she… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
Racial terrorism affects the lives of white people and black people and everyone, everything. Racism is contaminating. It can affect the dogs in the… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“Hattie’s children died in the order in which they were born: first Philadelphia, then Jubilee.” — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“Six understood in that instant that he had something the ministers wanted and it had given him power among them. He had never been… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
I really, deeply believe in the primacy of character. I believe that my job as a writer is to put a believable human being… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
“I go above deck to watch the sky darken into twilight. It helps me remember that this strange place is still the earth, and… — Ayana Mathis Copy Share Image
