This classic autobiography is a moving life story that reveals great insight into the making of a major writer. Broken down into three distinct parts, the book details Anderson's childhood, along with the years she spent primarily as a mother and the wife of a prominent naval officer, before concluding with her return to school and a renewal of the desire to write late in life. Her life's story poignantly illuminates not only her own existence, but also that of her country, New Zealand, over the past 80 years.