’ve been wanting to read this ever since I first heard about it several years ago, and thanks to receiving a copy from Anita Endrezze as a gift this Christmas (or was it for my birthday?) - anyway I know it was in December – I wasted no time.

Fifteen essays that take us from Lee Smith’s childhood in the Appalachian mountain town of Grundy, Virginia through her college years in Roanoke, Virginia, and conclude in North Carolina with the book’s publication in 2016. This is a memoir that is also a coming-of-age story and a discourse on writing.

In addition to the memories of her childhood and growing up years, I found her thoughts about writing and imagination were perceptive treasures that any good writer would value. Just like Edora Welty’s commentary in One Writer’s Beginnings, this book contains thoughtful observations and honest reflections on the craft of writing. For instance, she takes a mentor’s advice to “Get your head out of them clouds, honey. Pay attention.” And Lee writes: “I’ve been trying to pay attention ever since, realizing that writing is not about fame, or even publication. It is not about exalted language, abstract themes, or the escapades of glamourous people. It is about our own real world and our own real lives and understanding what happens to us day by day, it is about playing with children and listening to old people.”

Yes, this is a memoir about growing up in the Appalachian Mountains – but more than that it is a collection of brilliant observations and amazing insights about writing. This is the book for you if you want to enjoy personal and succinctly written essays chronicling the development and growth of a writer. ( )

Started out okay, but I got lost somewhere in the middle! Not really an autobiography (very little about the Dimestore!). ( )

The Autobiography of Lee Smith, author of [b:Fair and Tender Ladies|199635|Fair and Tender Ladies|Lee Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389575982s/199635.jpg|1437835], [b:On Agate Hill|199636|On Agate Hill|Lee Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442970592s/199636.jpg|1851466], and [b:The Last Girls|126873|The Last Girls|Lee Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333577608s/126873.jpg|2636756], is so beautifully written and heartfelt that you feel she is a neighbor or a friend, or at the least a person you would feel comfortable sharing a coke and hotdog with.

Born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, Lee infuses her writing with a sense of place and persons who have all but vanished from the face of the earth. This is Appalachia at its core, coal-mining country, where family live across the street and over the holler and the other side of the mountain, and you cannot go anywhere without being recognized and cared for.

I particularly enjoyed this part of these essays, but it was also interesting to see how she took this beginning and lived a full life in other places and environments without losing this sense of who she was. Having always been interested in how others write, and why, it was enlightening to hear her stories of how she progressed from scribbling bits of imaginings to tapping into the depths of her soul for characters that resonated, like [b:Fair and Tender Ladies|199635|Fair and Tender Ladies|Lee Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389575982s/199635.jpg|1437835]’ Ivy Rowe.

She shares some of her heartbreaks, some of her loves, other authors she has admired, people who have influenced her, and the intimacies of the family she came from and the ones that she built with her two husbands. She seems to have scaled some heights without developing any feeling of superiority to others. She would confess to being privileged and yet admits to a life that has been less than perfection. There is much to be admired in both the writing the woman. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. I think some of my favorite essays were the ones that centered on writing, but they were all good, poignant, and wise.

In many ways Smith had one of those idyllic childhoods with two doting parents, but they both had their issues, which meant that Smith had to stay with other relatives from time to time. Her mother was "kindly nervous," and her father suffered mental illness.

Despite its brevity, Smith packs a ton of entertaining tidbits into this book about her life in Grundy, VA and beyond. She was hilarious in parts (like when she thought she'd run out of material to write) and equally riveting when she told of her son's mental illness.

If you love Smith's fiction, this gives you the key to her thoughts, what makes her tic, and the honesty of her heart. Highly recommend! ( )

Expressed her ways of getting involved in her writing. Often referring to other authors works as her inspiration. Honest discussion about living with bipolar father which surprised me as he owns the dime store, glad she did not glamorize him but made him realistic. Also dealt with a son having mental issues and then losing him. Explains how her 2 marriages turned out. Just did not flow well for me reading it. ( )