Patricia Grace is one of NZ's preeminent writers. She has published 7 novels, 7 short story collections and a number of books for children, and won numerous awards since her first book in 1975. She was the first Māori woman to publish a story collection. Now, late in life (she is 84) she brings us a fascinating memoir, written in a chatty, intimate style. She discusses racism, family, writing and landscape, her formative experiences, her activism, what it is to live as a Māori through the 20th Century and into the 21st. It's a very moving book, an insight into a life that few pākehā see, and is illustrated with family photographs. A lovely and vital book.