This book touches the reader on many levels: as a memoir, a biography, a history and as a study of nature. As the narrative moves forward through a series of beautifully written meditative essays, it explores the intimate details of nature, relationships, structures, and events, which have shaped the author's memory of her family's summer lake home and community. Shultz visits her history and her present, exploring the northern environment of Michigan's lower peninsula, the development of an unusual summer community within that environment, and the growth of an individual within both the natural and human environment. This is not only a history of community but also a cultural study of all such communities. Schultz acknowledges her debt to Thoreau by recognising the significance of individual perception in understanding nature. However, she also extends Walden by considering complex and changing relationships between nature and human community.