When Linda Hale Bucklin's mother died, an apparent suicide, nothing in her staid world remained the same. Her father, scion of a wealthy San Francisco family, already enamored with Denise Minnelli, fell under her control and Denise managed to end up the sole heir of his vast estate. Linda recounts her pilgrimage of gradually learning to stand up for herself and make peace with her history. But more than the uncertainties about her mother's death, Linda finds herself estranged from her controlling father. 180 pp. 

Alan Jones, dean of San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, says, "Linda Bucklin shares with us a hard yet tender story. We are all called to practice the art of living truthfully. It's the only way we can find our own true path. But how do we 'declare' who we are without our testimony being at someone else's expense? The dangers of a memoir is tht we paint ourselves always in a good light. Our mistakes are forgivable and those of the ones who have hurt us are not. Linda Bucklin's fierce honesty avoids these traps, and we have a story to challenge and touch the heart--that of a daughter who stood up against her father and deeply loved him to the end. That's why this story is not only Linda's story. Its truth is universal."

LINDA HALE BUCKLIN, the mother of three grown sons, lives with her husband in San Francisco. For some years a nationally ranked tennis player, in 2006 she became #1 in 60-mixed doubles. She has served as a trustee of Grace Cathedral and as an associate regent of the Kenmore Museum, part of the George Washington Fredericksburg Foundation. You can e-mail her at linda@lindahalebucklin.com