first college appointment, is written in the third person, which threw me off, as this is a memoir. It also struck me as odd, because in a later chapter the author says, "The days when I thought of myself in third person were long past." I'm not even sure what that means, but I guess it isn't a true statement. Much of the narrative will appeal to people who are immersed in the world of academe. To those of us who are not, it can seem insular and meaningless. The chapters in which the author describes her childhood on a remote Montana ranch were more appealing to me. These parts of the book remind me of Jill Ker Conway's The Road from Coorain , which I enjoyed more. What really impeded my appreciation of this book is the whiny tone of the author, who on paper seems to take responsibility for the actions that shaped her life, but who in reality hasn't. She married young out of lust, she married a second time out of lust. She chose to stay with the second husband, even though his antagonistic and demented nature alienated her children. "Our home was not a place anyone would choose to be," she writes. Ah, but she did choose that home. It isn't any wonder her son hasn't spoken to her in 25 years. She doesn't seem too bothered by the estrangement anyway. "I am who I am, and I did what I did," she concludes defiantly.