this is simply put, a wonderful honest read. this is one of my all time favorite books. i am currently reading it for the third time in about 8 years. it is a pleasure to read EACH time. i know that this will not be my last time in reading it!

A beautfiul, poignant memoir of growing up in a less-than-perfect family (who didn't? But how many of us will admit it?) in a now vanished America (the rural South of the pre-World War II years). Dabney's clear-eyed reflections on her childhood memories will strike a chord with anyone who has looked back at their youth across the experience of years. This is no sweetly sentimental reminiscing; Dabney pulls few punches when relating her parents strengths and their failings, as well as her own sometimes less-than-lovable younger self. The pitfalls and prejudices of life in segregated Virginia are clearly spelled out, also. Yet, this is a poetic, moving book, delighting in the slower pace and rich detail of a life lived close to the soil and the seasons, with much beauty to enrich the spirit of an artistic person like the author. Painful episodes like the difficult marriage and premature death of her beautiful older sister are disclosed with grace and sympathy. As the author herself states, this is a book that truly took a lifetime to write, and every page sings with truth, beauty, and the joy and pain of life!