This is a narrative of William Cooper Howells' life to age 37 and a portrait of life in early eastern Ohio, written at the end of his life and completed by his son, the literary figure William Dean Howells. William C. Howells immigrated to the U.S. with his parents from Wales as a boy, and the family eventually made its way to a farm in Ohio. Much of this book is about life as a farmer, but also includes the author’s various attempts at making a living as a teacher, printer, and editor. An unusually literate and reflective memoir of rural life.