I read & loved the Beany Malone books as a young adult. Even as a "grown-up" teenager, I read the later Katie Rose series (when no one was looking). She captured perfectly the times and angst of those in-between years. As a YA in the 1960's, the Beany books gave me an insight into my parents era. I never forgot the characters or author - recently searching & discovered this auto/biography. It wasn't easy finding a copy to read either; I had to borrow from LofC. I most wanted to find out how she came to write about this "real-to-me family". I am thoroughly enjoying the book; highly recommend to anyone who remembers the books & being a pre-teen, back in the 40's, 50's, 60's & 70's. ( )