I didn't know who I was yet. Now that I have a better idea, I will tell you this: I am an ugly woman.
-- Narrator (Time In Time Out)

Importance: At the start of the novel, Tookie describes the person that she was at the time of her crime. She says that although she was in her thirties, she behaved like a much younger, much less mature individual. Over the course of this description, however, Tookie's retrospective voice blurs with her voice in the narrative present. She reveals how similarly she feels about herself in the past and the present. Though she committed the crime years prior, her mistake still impacts the way Tookie understands herself. In this moment, she likens her past self to her present self. No matter how much time has passed, Tookie believes that her crime continues to determine who she is capable of being. The moment introduces one of the novel's...