Quotes by John William Tuohy

“I felt empty a lot and I sometimes had a senseand I know this sounds strangethat I really had no existence as my own person, that I could disappear and no one would notice or remember that I had ev...”

“Then there are all of those children, the ones who arent resilient. The ones who slowly, quietly die. I think the difference is that the kids who bounce back learn to bear a little bit more than th...”

“I dont know what I would have done if they had hugged me. I probably would have frozen in place, become stiff. It took most of my life to overcome my distaste for physical contact and not to stiffe...”

“I hit him for every single thing that was wrong in my life and kicked him in a fierce fury of madness as he sobbed and covered his face and screamed. I hit him because Walter hit me and I hit him b...”

“I had decided that I wanted to earn my living as a writer and the only place in Waterbury where they paid you for writing was at the local newspaper. My opportunity came when the paper had an openi...”

“Imagine being beaten up every day for something you didnt do and yet, when its over, you keep on smiling. Thats what every day of Donalds life was like. His death was a small death. No one mourned ...”

“The next day, when I came home from the library, there was a small, used red record player in my room. I found my mother in the kitchen and spotted a bandage taped to her arm. Ma, I asked. Where di...”

“For the first time in my life, I was eating well and from platesglass plates, no less, not out of the frying pan because somebody lost all the plates in the last move. Now when we ate, we sat at a ...”

“Jesus, I prayed silently, please fix it so that my turn to read wont come around. And then the nun called my name, but before I stood I thought, Ill bet you think this is funny, huh, Jesus? I stoo...”

“Denny thought our parents needed a combination of material goods and temperamental changes before he could return home. If Dad buys Ma a car, then shell love him, and theyll get back together and s...”

“I am here because I worked too hard and too long not to be here. But although I told the university that I would walk across the stage to take my diploma, I wont. At age fifty-seven, Im too damned ...”

“In foster care its easier to measure what youve lost over what you have gained, because it there arent many gains in that life and you are a prisoner to someone elses plans for your life.”

“Eventually, many years later, I came to see him the way everyone else saw hima nice guy who, despite all the damage he did to us, wasnt a bad man, not inherently bad, anyway. He just wasnt very bri...”

“They were no better than common thieves. They stole our childhood. But even with that, I was heartbroken that I would not know the Wozniaks anymore, the only people who came close to being parents ...”

“I was tired of fighting the windstorm I was tossed into, and instead I would let go and ride with the winds of change. How bad could it be, compared to the life I knew? I was living life as if it w...”

“I dont know, he said. Those three words from a willing soul are the start of a grand and magnificent voyage. And with that he began a discourse that lasted for several weeks, covering scene-setting...”

“Father, I cant take this, I said. Why not? Because youre a priest, Father. And my moneys no good because of it? What are you? A member of the Masonic Lodge? Naw, Father, I said. I just feel guilty...”

“My affliction decided to join us, forcing me to push my toes on the floor as though I were trying to eject myself from the chair. I prayed she didnt notice what the affliction was making me do. I h...”

“There is a sense of danger in leaving what you know, even if what you know isnt much. These mill towns with their narrow lanes and often narrow minds were all I really knew and I feared that if I l...”

“I felt empty a lot and I sometimes had a sense—and I know this sounds strange—that I really had no existence as my own person, that I could disappear and no one would notice or remember that I had ...”