Table of Contents
"I grew up in a northern town" 1
1 My Life 3
2 My People 15
3 All You Need to Know 23
4 Luncheonette 28
5 At the Farm 35
6 Liberation 40
7 Poverty 50
8 Aunts 56
9 You Are Welcome 70
10 The Trip to New York City 77
11 The Amazing Year, Part 1 88
12 The Amazing Year, Part 2 97
13 Radio 102
14 Newspapering 111
15 The Guntzels 116
16 Settling In 123
17 Radio Days 130
18 Joe 139
19 A Prairie Home Companion 144
20 An Essay on Cowardice 164
21 Coast to Coast 170
22 I Found a Great Sorrow 187
23 Climbing Out of the Soup 199
24 A Good Life 211
25 Friendship and Fame 238
26 John and Grace 249
27 Mitral Valve 263
28 You're the Top 274
29 Altman 286
30 Ingenuity! Art! Good Luck! Goodbye! 294
31 Seventy 312
32 An Easy Descent into Oblivion 328
33 The CEO 337
34 Toast 343
Acknowledgments 355
Credits 359