From the author of the memoir The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography comes this slim volume combining craft with autobiography and offering a response from a woman’s perspective to George Orwell’s influential essay “Why I Write.” Organized into chapters named after Orwell’s four reasons to write—“Political Purpose,” “Historical Impulse,” “Sheer Egoism,” and “Aesthetic Enthusiasm”—Levy identifies the life experiences that have shaped her novels, including her South African childhood, her family’s expatriation to England, and the challenges of motherhood. Levy spans continents and decades as she analyzes what it means to be a woman writer, quoting authors such as Adrienne Rich and Marguerite Duras. Both philosophical and practical, this unique book of memories and lessons portrays how creative ideas come to life, offering readers an inspiring look into the life of a working writer.
