Baby of the Family Quotes

“Lena, don't you know you ain't never been alone? No matter how bad it got, there was always somebody, dead or alive, trying to help you."
(...)
"For God's sake, baby, just 'cause you see a few ghosts and such, you think you crazy? What you think the rest of us- those that come before you, those that's living now- done been through? Don't you think we bout crazy too? All us colored women in this here country crazy as betsy bugs. Life done made us that way.
"Crazy ain't all bad, child. Sometimes it's the only thing that protects you. This world you living in can be so mixed up, so backwards, that not fitting into it, being what some folks call crazy, is a blessing. And you, Lena, got the power to do something with your craziness."
(...)
"... You got a whole lot to do before you over on this side. That's what you was made for. That's why you had that veil over your face when you was born. That was a sign of the things you can do, things you can be."
(...)
The wind whipped through the trees and brush like a chorus. Then it seemed to collect itself, whiz over the stream, and whistle around Lena, lifting her gown and robe above her waist. The gust of wind eddied up her body. As it blew past her face, Lena noticed a scent she hadn't smelled in nearly a decade... the raw briny smell of the ocean.
(...)
"Lena, there're things you have to know about yourself. And it's time you did something to start finding them out. Baby, you can't run away from what you are. You was born a special child. Now it's time you got to claim what is yours.”
― Tina McElroy Ansa, Baby of the Family

“Don't you believe that," she said very slowly. "Don't you believe that, Lena. Black folk belong here. You belong here. Don't believe black folks don't belong on the beach. Don't never believe black folks don't belong nowhere. Don't be afraid, Lena. Claim what is yours. I died to be here on this beach, Lena. Don't never forget that. You belong anywhere on this earth you want to.”
― Tina McElroy Ansa, Baby of the Family

“Sometimes she could she her brother, mother and grandmother pull away, almost recoil from her, when she said or did something they weren't expecting, which could be just about anything. It didn't really hurt her feelings. It was always just a fleeting look or feeling, anyway, and she never doubted the love her family felt for her- even when she was mad with all of them. She just figured their reactions were part of the way life was, like her seeing ghosts and knowing not to tell anyone about it.”
― Tina McElroy Ansa, Baby of the Family