I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.

小说的名字来自马丁路德金的语录 ”If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way."

作为在多民族，单种族背景下长大的我来说， 对“种族歧视”这个概念其实并不理解。小说从三个角度来讲故事。以为刻苦努力就能得到平等美好生活的黑人护士Ruth；白人至上主义，失去儿子的Skinhead Turk; 作为Ruth的Public Defender 白人律师 Kennedy.

Ruth 以为可以通过自身的努力而得到平等，然而 “ I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them."

Jodi 在书后的author's note 提到 “Just as racism creates disadvantages for people of color that make success harder to achieve, it also gives advantages to white people that make success easier to achieve."