The Stuff of a Life: Collected Essays

A Quaker childhood, a hefty dose of adolescent insecurity, a conflicted relationship with 1970s Women's Lib, an ill-advised business venture, a disastrous foray into politics, a post-retirement stint as a snow-bird-these and other experiences provide opportunities to reflect on larger questions: Where does the stuff that makes up a life begin? How do memories of childhood shape our view of the present? How do reflections from the present help make sense of the past? Those are some of the questions buried here in stories of childhood imaginings, adolescent insecurity, and the gradual evolution of a mature, then aging woman.