Introduction Summary and Analysis

At the age of fifty, Frederick Buechner examines his memories and his mementos, looking for keys to the person he has been, and for clues to the person he is becoming. He thinks that God speaks through the everyday noise of life, and he decides to write down his memories of the first half of his life to see what God is saying to him through those memories. He encourages the reader to look for glimpses of the reader's own self in the stories, and also suggests that the reader can examine his or her own life and see what God is saying.

Frederick muses on an ordinary morning, years ago, when he pauses and listens to the sounds around him. Although they are only a collection of ordinary ambient noise, it occurs to Frederick that the sounds of this specific...