In nine stunning essays, the inimitable Vivian Gornick returns to the books that have shaped her. From a reporter in 1970s New York, to a feminist negotiating love and independence, to a writer in the jubilant sanctity of older age: Gornick's life is compelling, and in the characters of literature she finds versions of herself through the years, each time she opens the page.<br/><br/>Gornick finds solace in the contradictory figures of D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, assesses womanhood in Colette, and reflects on Marguerite Duras's The Lover; she revisits Great War novels by J.L. Carr and Pat Barker, uncovers the psychological complexity in Elizabeth Bowen, and soaks in Natalia Ginzberg, 'whose work … made me love life more'. When two erratic, highly strung cats enter her life, she discovers Doris Lessing's Particularly Cats. <br/><br/>Infused with Gornick's trademark verve and insight, this collection is a masterful appreciation of literature and its ability to illuminate.