For almost seven decades, Dorothy West has enriched America's literary tradition. Now, the fruits of her fabled career are offered up in a luminous collection of stories and essays. Their themes are universal: the daily misunderstandings between old and young, men and women, rich and poor, that can lead to tragedy; and the ways in which bonds of family and community can bring us together and tear us asunder. West's essays explore the poles of her remarkable life- from growing up black and middle-class in Boston, to her role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1930s, to her life on Martha's Vineyard. Together they form a triumphant celebration of the work of one of America's genuine treasures.