Index for Don't Tell Me What To Do: A Spiritual Memoir
This is a list of common or significant words used in Don't Tell Me What To Do: A Spiritual Memoir. Click on the word to see where and how often it appears in the book.
“I want to live my own life.”“Sit back and stop crying
a rooster scampered over to me and started pecking at my face.
Ada Mama became one of the first landowners
Ada Mama smiled at me and flashed that gold tooth at the woma
Ada Mama stood over me with that floppy hat lopsided on her head.
Addicted
Amherst
angry words
Are you hungry?”
Army
Back Where I Belonged
beating
Beatings, grounding, pleading or threats did not deter me.
Beer
Blood
Burrell Advertising
Butch
candy
Carol
Cars whisked by me and I tried to count them all
catheter
Chicago
Chickens
Chickens were running around the yard
Christian
conductor
corn flakes
Crack/Cocaine
dangerous criminal
Death
deliverance
Depression
Desecration
die
Drug dealers
Eagleville Hospital
emotional
Epilogue
Every Sunday morning we walked along the tracks to church
Expatriate
Front teeth
Gary, Indiana
George Kirby
Glen Mills School
God
Gold Tooth
Hamburger University
He looks funny without his teeth.”
Hearing voices
Heroin
Hoola Hoop
Huey Newton
I ain’t eating that
I feel God’s assurance
I grew immune to the beatings.
I hated her.
I picked up the hoola hoop he had given to me
I tiptoed into the kitchen to look into the bowl with the head of the chicken in it
I wanted a son and now I have one.”
I was out of control.
I was out of control. I was rebellious. I wanted my way.
I was placed on a train
I was too full and sleepy to argue.
I will never again smoke crack.
I’ve tried and failed many times to stay
Interment
James Cleveland
Jesus
John Duffy
Judge Stout
King
Korea
Lithium
Lord
Miss Nora
mouth
My eyes were locked on the chicken running around the yard without a head.
NA
NAACP
New Haven
New London
New York Cab Driver
North Carolina
Olympics
outhouses
Outside
PHILADELPHIA 2005
Pray
Praying
Predictably, I raised hell, disrupted the class, engaged in verbal battles with the teacher and pri
pump water, kerosene lamps
Quinnipiac
Racism
Raising Hell
Red, veined chicken eyes looked up at me.
Restoration
Resurrection:
Richard Hatcher
School
September arrived and Ada Mama registered me for school.
She greeted me with a wide, grinning smile, flashing a gold tooth.
She looked around at me, grinning and flashing that gold tooth, holding up the head of the
She gave chase after one, snatched up a hen up by the neck, and began to twirl it about in the air.
She reached down to hug me with black, skinny, bony arms that looked to be like sticks.
She smacked me on the head
slave
Smart kid
State Trooper
stem
Temple University Hospital
the anointed favorite son
The hard, sharp beak of the rooster felt like a needle piercing my arms and hands.
The Night She Died
The one
There was no running water, electricity or flushing toilets, only pump water, kerosene lamps and out
This time I told him as best I could about Ada Mama, where I was going, and how I was going to get t
Tillery
Train
Uncle James
Weed
Weldon
Who told you that you can live your own life?”
Wine
work
Yolanda King
