Uprising

We will not be stupid girls. We will not be powerless girls. We will not be useless girls

Amazing, Yetta thought. Back home I couldn't have chosen my own husband. And here I'm thinking about choosing presidents, governors, mayors, laws...

The story begins like so much else,' she says slowly, 'With hope. Hope and dreams and daring...

It does not take a long time to fall to the ground, even from nine stories up. But it took a lifetime for Yetta. It took every single one of the last moments of her life.

In America, money is God.

Why is the whole world stacked in favor of rich Christian men when God made me a poor Jewish girl?" "Maybe God thinks you're up to the challenge," Jane said quietly.

What good does it do to speak of scars no one can see, of grief that never lifts?

The girl sat up, and the frills and lace and ruffles floated into place on the most elaborate dress Bella had ever seen. Bella felt great sympathy for the sewing machine operator who'd had to concoct that monstrosity.

My letter,” Bella said in Yiddish that was a bit garbled, but perfectly understandable. “I want my letter back and she won’t give it to me. Why doesn’t she understand my English?” “That’s Yiddish you’re speaking,” Yetta said. “No, it’s not,” Bella said irritably. “It’s the English I learned in the factory.” “It’s Yiddish! You must have learned Yiddish because there were so many of us Jews in the factory. Listen”—Yetta switched languages—“English sounds like this.” Bella stared up at Yetta, her eyes seeming to grow in her pale face. “I don’t even know what Yiddish is,” she said, in Yiddish….. “Bella learned Yiddish by mistake,” Yetta said. “She thought she was speaking English.” “Wish I could learn a new language just by mistake,” Jane said. “I’ve been studying Italian for weeks, and it’s totally useless.