I absolutely loved this inspiring memoir---it's a keeper, for sure! I remember reading, "Why I Live at the PO" in high school and it was really fun and encouraging to read her perspectives on how her life influenced her writing. I love how she deconstructed the conversations and experiences of her childhood to see how they shaped her as a writer. My own has done the same for me...as has all other writers', I assume.

I liked how she talked about listening for stories. When I'm traveling I'm LOOKING for stories. Just another great reminder of the importance of carrying a journal to record experiences as they happen. About two-thirds into the book, I ordered a book of her short stories. I'm looking forward to reading more!

My favorite quote came from page 57: "Emotions do not grow old." I read this book while my husband and I were on a visit to Oregon to visit his father. He has a terminal illness and we both knew this very likely could be the last time we'd see him. This quote made me think of Leo and how, though his body is dying, his love for his family is very much alive. I hope I always remember the proud look he had and the shine in his eyes as he introduced my husband to his nurses, "Yes, this is my son." He was so excited and surprised to see my husband show up in the hospital---he didn't know we were coming. There was laughter, tears, frustrations, joys, and more the few days we spent with him---all very real emotions from a family who very much loves and respects their father. I love this quote. It will always make me think of Leo. ( )

Once a series of lectures Welty provided, these essays are perfect capsules of her early life and stirrings toward literature. More memoir than writing instruction, the narratives stand as a comment on the writing life and how it begun for one writer more than a functional 'how to" book. But the best books about writing typically feature the writers' lives more than the writing itself. Having never read any Welty, this read was meant as an introduction to her work. After reading how she viewed the world, and necessarily, her characters, I'm eager to try some of her work. The book is a short but terribly evocative read.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended ( )

Since Welty's short story "A Worn Path" is the reason I became an English major, and therefore an editor and librarian and teacher, it would seem churlish to give anything fewer than 5 stars to the story of her own life. Plus it's good. ( )

As always, I most enjoyed the genealogy and family history she shared. Not being a writer, I found her description of how she found her characters to be unconvincing. Was she deceiving herself though when she wrote that looking back on the life of her parents and family the the steps -almost stepping stones - they chose were inevitable, were the only path that could have been chosen for the family?

I don't know exactly what I was expecting from this little book but I wasn't expecting to practically weep through the entire thing. Welty's relationship with her parents made me think of mine with my parents and how little I truly know about either of them. ( )