My own two feet

For some reason I just devoured this autobiography. Cleary's brief description at the end of how she finally finished her first book, after years of aspiring to be a writer, was interesting, with all the details she pulled from her life but changed, and the suggestions from an editor that shaped the final version. One can also feel reassured knowing that a woman who barely scraped through university with a D grade on her comprehensive exam can become a famous author! As a former English major, I had to laugh at her determined avoidance of Milton and her helplessness when confronted by a question like “Describe how English literature was affected by history,” never having really studied history.

There is lots about scrimping and saving money during the Depression, but no tone of complaint. It is good to remember how hard it was for people at that time, and to admire their courage and resourcefulness. The resilience of human beings is amazing.

The resistance of Cleary's parents to her marriage to a wonderful man who happened to be Catholic was terribly sad; their relationship continued to be a troubled one through this volume, and in the end she just had to cut loose and make her own life. Refusing to buy her eyeglasses, and shaming her for the amount of money her college education cost them, was just cruel. Again, Cleary does not complain, but it's clear that she was deeply hurt and confused by such unloving gestures. She must have created the warm, connected families in her books that she lacked in her own, showing how often writers write out of what they wish for, not only what they know.