From the irony of the subtitle, a line taken from Dylan Thomas' poem "Fern Hill," you might wonder whose life growing up is ever easy? The irony deepens as the author struggles to stay sane enough to master a craft she knew early on was her destiny. She follows in the footsteps of her brilliant, madly unstable father who traverses the globe, dragging his young family with him in search of adventure. Naive and too young to so soon be set free in all the capitols of Europe and Asia, it is only the sweet mercy of fate that keeps her alive. Filled with colorful characters and stunning settings, it is a book with a life force of its own.