In this down-to-earth American narrative, Margaret Fletcher recounts her life's journey, with all its hard-won wisdom, for her granddaughter. This is the inspiring story of a determined human being who was able to transcend family hardships, including her mother's illness and suicide, and go on to have a remarkable career as a top surgeon.

Endowed with a strong sense of purpose, Margaret Fletcher came of age in the 1950s and 60s. She recounts stories of growing up on a farm in upper Michigan, leaving home at the age of 16, getting herself through medical school, raising a family, building a career, and finally confronting her own darkness and illness. By claiming the writer's role as one of an explorer of personal experience, she manifests for her granddaughter, and for all who read her book, a portrait of growing and changing with enduring love.