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1 When I was 11, my father was forced to retire from the Navy after 25 years, and we moved to La Grange, North Carolina. My father began drinking heavily, and he took his rage and frustration out on my mother. We never knew when he was going to explode in anger and bitterness.

2 I lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my mother and two brothers after my father died. We lived in the Sixth Ward, which was a black neighborhood. We played stickball in the street, and every house had a side alley lined by a fence.

3 My mom was a prostitute, and she worked to provide for us. She wanted us to have a better life than she had, but sometimes our need to survive poverty got in the way.

4 I never believed in God, but I always considered myself to be spiritual. For me, spirituality is a feeling of connection beyond yourself. I was always on my own, until I was 12 when my baby brother was born.