High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver is a collection of twenty-five of the author's essays. The subjects contained in her anthology range from the tough times she experienced as an egghead in high school in her small town in Kentucky to her work as a successful writer. One common thread that touches the diverse subjects that she addresses in this collection is her passion—her passion for literature, societal issues, her family, community, animal and plant conservation and of the care and welfare of her daughter, Camille.

Kingsolver's success can be directly tied to her limitless curiosity. An observant librarian at her high school sensed that Kingsolver had great potential. The teacher recruited her to help organize the school's library, which led to Kingsolver's introduction to the vast world of literature. She read every book she could get hold of—even works of fiction that were banned at one time and non-fiction works that addressed controversial issues such as racism and sexism. Although Kingsolver was an unstylish nerd in high school, she eventually relished in the redemption that success brings on the day when she returned years later to her small town for the book signing of her first published novel.

Together, the essays loosely tell the story of Kingsolver's marriage and its eventual decline and the struggles of being a single parent. She demonstrated great curiosity and knowledge about the status of men and women in society and how they came to be. She traced the traditional roles that have fallen to the males and females in modern society back to the beginnings of human history when men were hunters and herders and women were planters and harvesters. When value and personal property became part of society, men were the natural keepers of property since the first items that were assigned value were animals. From those early years forward, women have taken a secondary role to men. Kingsolver is a strong advocate for the equality of women but recognizes that standing up against the legacy of thousands of centuries is not an easy challenge.

Kingsolver's love of nature—animals and plant—led to her degree in biology. She is passionate about the need for the conservation of the earth and all its inhabitants. Her love of reading and literature, which dated by to her high school days, eventually resulted in a successful writing career. Kingsolver used her writing skills as a medium to display her curiosity about the human condition and her passions for her daughter and family and her advocacy for the conservation of all life on the earth.