Grown Quotes

“What a woman wears or doesn’t wear doesn’t give anyone the right to touch them. Well, you know he’s had a rough childhood. Abandoned by his mom, didn’t know his father, raised by his grandma who passed. We’ve all BEEN through a lot but that don’t give you no excuse to abuse girls.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Trying to reclaim your life is a lot like drowning. You attempt to stay above water as waves of new information hit you sideways, carrying you further into the unknown. People throw life preservers, but the ropes can only reach so far, and once a riptide catches you by the ankle, all you can do is wonder why you ever thought you’d be OK jumping into the deep end, when you could barely manage the shallows.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Our daughter was stalked, preyed upon, and assaulted by a grown man. This is when we need our village the most.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Yo, Malcolm X said it best. “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“I'm so sorry, Daddy."
None of this is your fault. Not one drop of it. No child should ever take the blame for a man's actions.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“In my past life, I was a mermaid. I lived deep in the ocean, swimming free, eating crustaceans, and singing five-octave ballads. My notes caused ripples in the sea-whales, turtles, and seahorses alike gathered for my daily concerts. But on land, I struggle to breathe. Humans don't understand my pescatarian diet, and singing is a concept, not an aspiration."
- Enchanted”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“She took hold of her life, didn’t care what anyone else had to think or say.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“I suddenly miss the smells and tight quarters of my house. Burning sage, roasting rosemary, and Daddy’s aftershave. I even miss sharing a room with Shea. But I can’t go back home. Parents probably wouldn’t let me through the front door. The only place left for me is with Korey. Plus, he loves me. He needs me. Love is complicated.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“People throw life preservers, but the ropes can only reach so far, and once a riptide catches you by the ankle, all you can do is wonder why you ever thought you’d be OK jumping into the deep end, when you could barely manage the shallows.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“your heart is nothing but a muscle. It contracts and expands, working just as hard as any other muscle. The difference is, the blood pumping through it pumps through your entire body. That blood holds memories. Things you try to forget but it won’t let you. You have to use those memories, use that blood to fuel you.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Fish die quick in a tank, Daddy said. We needed room, to flourish, to grow, to go to college, to dive deep and go where they never could.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“You can try all you want to control the wild sea, but in the end, it'll always do what it wants.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“But love ain’t no fairy tale, ain’t no Disney movie. Love . . . REAL love . . . is complicated. It’s hard. It’s gonna hurt some days. Then some days it’s not.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“This book is about the abuse of power. It’s about the pattern of excusing grown men for their behavior while faulting young girls for their missteps.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“What a woman wears or doesn’t wear doesn’t give anyone the right to touch them.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“First, I was used as a resident babysitter, so I didn’t have a life of my own, now I’m being used again. This time for money. I don’t know what’s worse.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“One thing about Gab: she has her life figured out and is fearless about it. I so badly wanted to tell her I had good news of my own.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“There’s a sadness in his eyes, something left unsaid between his words.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Korey is twenty-eight. I’m seventeen. That’s only . . . an eleven-year difference. When I’m eighteen, he’ll be twenty-nine. Gabriela is three years younger than Jay. Kylie Jenner was eight years younger than Tyga. Beyoncé was eighteen when she met thirty-year-old Jay-Z. Mom is seven years younger than Daddy. It’s not that uncommon.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“How sweet, I thought before flopping back. He knows purple is my favorite color.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Malcolm X said it best. “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“It’s about the blatant criticism of girls who were victims of manipulation. It’s about holding the right person accountable for the crime he committed. It’s about corporations attempting to silence victims and continuing to profit off the very monster they helped create.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Hey, I was raped,’ you say, ‘Are you sure?’ Way to make us feel safe, Mr. Officer. Fletcher: But you weren’t reporting a rape. Gabriela: Last time I checked, it wasn’t legal to seduce an underage girl. Fletcher: That’s not what I . . . I mean. Gabriela: It’s just interesting how you assume a girl is crazy rather than believing her the first time she tells you something. Enchanted is, what, your sixteenth victim? It took sixteen girls to tell you something, and she had to risk her life to prove you idiots wrong.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Yo, Malcolm X said it best. “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“Can’t wait to see that pretty ass smile of yours tomorrow. Wear something that shows them curves”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“if I love him hard enough, maybe, just maybe, I can keep the dark side away.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“She saw him disappear by the river. They asked her to tell what happened, only to discount her memory.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“I feel like summer. I feel like crashing waves, hot sand, sticky ice-cream cones, smoky charcoal, and fireworks, all wrapped up in skin.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown

“I feel like fall. I am a heap of dead leaves, blackened, moist, reeking of mold. Rotting apples, dying grass, early darkness chasing away the sun.”
― Tiffany D. Jackson, Grown