Where the past begins: a writer's memoir

Prologue. The breaker of combs

I: Imagination. A leaky imagination ; Music as muse ; Souvenir from a dream ; Hidden genius ; Reorientation: Homer, Alaska

II: Memory in emotion. Genuine emotions ; The feeling of what it felt like when it happened ; A mere mortal at age twenty-five ; A mere mortal at age twenty-six ; How to change fate: step 1

III: Retrieving the past. The unfurling of leaves ; The auntie of the woman who lost her mind ; Unstoppable ; Time and distance: age twenty-four ; Time and distance: age fifty ; Time and distance: age sixty

IV: Unknown endings. The darkest moment of my life ; Nipping dog ; The father I did not know ; Reliable witness

V: Reading and writing. I am the author of this novel ; How I learned to read ; Splayed poem: the road ; Eidolons ; Letters to the editor ; Letters in English ; Why write?

VI: Language. Language: a love story ; Intestinal fortitude ; Principles of linguistics ; Companions in the house.