In this book, John W. Larson provides a personal account of growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the 1920s and ‘30s. Larson comes from a family with Swedish immigrant roots. He recounts how he slowly came to understand the influence these forebears had on his grandparents and parents and their efforts to prosper in St. Paul. Larson also recalls his struggles with his eye problems, the treatment he received, and the help he got dealing with his eyes when he was in school through its sight saving program. Readers come to understand Larson, various members of his family, and what it was like to grow up in FDR’s America. By the end of his senior year in high school, Larson is able to gain admission to college. The book concludes with a brief account of Larson’s growing friendship with Hubertus zu Lowenstein, an anti-Nazi German refugee who briefly taught at Hamline University during Larson’s first two years there. As a refugee, Lowenstein has to move on in 1942 to continue earning a living. Larson’s account ends when the draft calls him to service in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1943.