From a Southern storyteller and National Book Award–winning author, essays on her childhood, influences, and thoughts on writing and life. Now, with this collection of essays, readers can explore the author of Victory Over Japan throughout her career. From the Mississippi plantation of her childhood to pieces featured in Vogue, Outside, New Woman, and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, Gilchrist comes alive. With more than forty pictures, essays about Gilchrist’s thoughts on writing, and a peek into the books, teachers, and artists that influenced her work, this is required reading for any fan. “This book of “journals” is actually a carefully patterned quilt sewn of the author’s NPR “entries” and a few assorted essays and speeches. Underlaid with a warm, subtle (sometimes precious) humor, these homey reflections on things near and far . . . manage, in their spare manner, to pare down to the deceptively simple truth of things. . . . This volume should provide welcome fare for Gilchrist fans.” —Kirkus Reviews