"Beautifully written, masterfully structured, and brimming with insight into the natural world ... It has the makings of an American classic."--ANN PATCHETT

"Growing up in Alabama, Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents--her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father--and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child's transition to caregiver.--

Growing up in Alabama, Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents: her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father, and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child's transition to caregiver.