This autobiography is concerned with the early years and young womanhood of Jill Ker Conway, the first female president of Smith College and a noted historian specializing in the experience of women in America. The book tells the story of Conway's journey from a girlhood on an isolated sheep farm in the Australian grasslands where she studied by correspondence, to her first experiences at school in the city (she was already 11 years old), to her years as a university undergraduate, and finally to her departure for America for graduate study because 1950s Australia did not offer such opportunities for a female. The book is of interest for its wealth of detail about Conway's life in Australia and for the wisdom it imparts to those who take pleasure in seeing someone succeed against difficult odds. The book is infused with a love of learning and would be especially inspiring for young women scholars to read. (NKA)