At one time, when I was eight years old, my mother and father, my brother and my sisters - we had to move back in with my grandmother, and there were 13 of us living in one house.

I feel a lot of pressure when I'm writing because I know, you know, if they looked at a synopsis of the book, what they read could only confirm all the stereotypes that they have about us and about people like us.

I think, when I write, one of the things that I'm really attempting to do is I'm attempting to humanize my characters.

Jesmyn Ward Quotes