"These essays--or as Sydney Williams calls them: 'musings'--are evocative of a time and a place--of growing up in a New Hampshire village in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Sydney Williams was the second of nine children whose parents were sculptors and who was raised on a small farm, with horses, goats and chickens--an unconventional life in an unconventional place, but during a conventional time. They include memories of his parents and their families, of books and of skiing. While they are personal, their message is universal message. It is one of remembrance--the closeness of families and the effect genes and environment have on how we become who we are. Sydney M. Williams left Peterborough in 1956 to go off to school, yet his bonds to Peterborough persist. His brother Willard owns and manages the Toadstool Bookshop. Besides Willard, three sisters--Betsy, Charlotte and Jenny--live nearby"--Provided by publisher.