Perspective

Anne writes from the perspective of a woman in the Eighties reflecting on her childhood in the Fifties. Now a professional writer, she looks into her past, not as an attempt to understand how she got to where she is (because, she says, that does not matter) but because she believes children are the best living examples of how to live happily. Children are naturally in love with the world and fascinated by the simplest things. This curiosity is usually stamped out by the demands of society, which is concerned only with money and social status. However, she feels one can hang onto this childlike spirit, and Anne implicitly credits her mother for her ability to do so. By all appearances, Anne's mother lived a life which should have been mundane and boring. She was a homemaker, tucked away in a Pittsburgh suburb, and her daily tasks rarely...