The first part of this book (which is a digest of several of Stark's books) is an unflinching look at her hard bohemian childhood in the early part of the 20th century. Stark shows a child's ability to find wonder in the natural world and broad friendship in the human one, mixed with a clear-eyed look at the parents and step-parents who caused her childhood to be terrifically unsettled and even dangerous. It's a gorgeously detailed and atmospheric story that spans the UK and Italy, and intersects with some interesting people who become lifelong friends. The second section covers her early adult life. Because of her neglected childhood (and a horrifying industrial accident), she spends much of her time through her mid-30s fighting chronic illness, worrying about her feckless mother and her beloved but hapless sister, maintaining a friendship with her odd, distant father, and trying to make money with a small farm. All the time, though, she holds a vision of becoming independent of all that — in fact, of becoming an explorer in the oil regions of Syria, Iraq and "Arabia." So she takes Arabic and cartography lessons, builds her contacts, and slowly finds her way to independence. And in the third book, with her mother finally provided for and some other loose ends tied as best she can, she heads out. It's a transportive story. ( )