A Quality of Light Quotes

“You spent so much time and effort trying to come to terms with your identity. You're lucky that you could find a history and a heritage. I never could. There's not a lot of photographs depicting the rise of white trash, their ceremonies and their rituals. And that's what we were, white trash. We weren't supposed to be but my father created us in his image. He walked away from everything. From family, from tradition, from history, from community. Everything.

That's what white trash is---a motely collection existing without the life-enhancing benefits of background. No cultural, historical anchor. No rich emotional homeland... History. I never had one. My father kept it all to himself. His story. That's all I had. Not history, just his story. He mongrelized us, lessoned us, defined us by his bleary-eyes vision of the world. Great. Try growing up with a bloodshot sense of yourself.”
― Richard Wagamese, A Quality of Light