I Didn't Read A Serious Book Until

Maybe I'm A Serial Regional Writer. First Here, Then There, Across The Map.

I Know You Can Dream Your Way Through An Otherwise Fine Life, And Never Wake Up, Which Is What I Almost Did.

When You Are Sixteen You Do Not Know What Your Parents Know, Or Much Of What They Understand, And Less Of What's In Their Hearts. This Can Save You From Becoming An Adult Too Early, Save Your Life From Becoming Only Theirs Lived Over Again--which Is A Loss. But To Shield Yourself--as I Didn't Do--seems To Be An Even Greater Error, Since What's Lost Is The Truth Of Your Parents' Life And What You Should Think About It, And Beyond That, How You Should Estimate The World You Are About To Live In.

If You Lose All Hope, You Can Always Find It Again.

I Think That's The Thing That Memoir Can Do More Than Anything It Does; It Testifies And Bears Witness To The Existence Of People Whose Lives, Pleasures And Virtues Would Never Have Been Testified To Without My Having Done It. That Makes Me Really Glad.