"A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers"--T.p. verso.

Packing up -- Family occasions. Sundays -- The contest -- Father's Day -- The New York hat -- The train cake -- A second adoption -- Growing up -- Mice -- Rites of passage. On the road -- The quest for pie -- The sentry -- Everybody's children. Thankfulness -- Fetal alcohol syndrome : a national perspective -- Fetal alcohol syndrome : a parent's perspective -- Crossing the line -- Crazy Horse Malt Liquor -- The power of love -- Indians. "I" isn't for "Indian" -- Indians on the shelf -- Rewriting history -- Discoveries -- The grass still grows, the rivers still flow : contemporary Native Americans -- The hundred year war for White Earth -- Learning from mistakes. For Indians, no Thanksgiving -- Native American literature in an ethnohistorical context -- Mr. Reagan and the Indians -- Dances with Indians -- Opened doors. Beating the system -- Trusting the words -- Summer reading -- Word from the front -- House of stone -- Little fears -- Going places. Americans all -- Martyrs -- Pen pals -- The forgotten algebra test nightmare -- Life stories -- Home. The cherry tree -- Three yards -- Real and true estate -- Maintaining a home -- Cutting grass.

A collection of essays in which author Michael Dorris reflects upon his roles as father, son, and husband; scholar, professor, and student; writer and critic; activist; traveler; and observer.