This is a memoir about growing up in a gypsy-like family. The parents are flower children of the sixties, stubbornly entrenched in a lifestyle that scoffs at the restrictions of the average American household. They live casually at the poverty level, moving around the country, sometimes homeless. No steady jobs, but lots of futile endeavors. They are highly intellectual, self educated, and talented. The four children are also bright and resourceful, and are given lots of unsupervised freedom. In spite of scattered schooling, they easily get good grades. The various places where they live, more like camp out, are impossible to imagine. What they eat, the rags they wear, their adventures, the creative ways they manage to survive, how the children take on adult responsibilities - it's all told with humor & compassion. The reader wants to love the parents for their personalities, but also to feel anger at their irresponsible attitudes and neglect of their children. It is Jeannette's story about her struggle to overcome her desperate situation, and eventually get herself a college degree and a career as a writer. I hear there has been suspicion that this "autobiography" is not entirely true, but it certainly makes for a good read. And I feel grateful for the normal life I've taken for granted.