Translated and Afterword by Lynne Sharon Schwartz One of the greatest twentieth-century voices of Italian literature, long wrongly overshadowed by her male counterparts, Natalia Ginzburg has never been reluctant to take unpopular or controversial positions. Known for the forthrightness and clarity of her vision, in these autobiographical essays she explores being a writer, a mother, and being displaced during WWII through travel pieces, mood pieces, stories picked from newspapers and meditations on her own sense of self. Together, they are a unique and inspired collection.