The Body Papers Quotes

“Immigration is a kind of death. You leave one life for another one with no guarantee of seeing your loved ones or home again.”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers

“The subtext, which no one said aloud, was that we did not deserve these spots that we were taking from white students who worked so hard and earned it more. I got the message. Not only was I insulted by how breezy and casual people were with their racial comments,”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers

“I was like everyone else until I walked by a plate-glass window or bathroom mirror or saw a photo of myself with my friends, who in that image became my white friends.”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers

“What they do out of love for each other is stunning.”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers

“My friend Joanne, a poet, writes a poem called “The Ghost Workers” about these men who would not be allowed to enter the buildings they make: Once done, the workers who swung from one window to the next will be invisible to wealthy Westerners who live here. As long as the skyscrapers shine, as long as the rebar vanishes beneath a patina”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers

“I never forget that someone else’s work makes mine possible.”
― Grace Talusan, The Body Papers