"In these pages, I have tried to capture some of my family's traditions as I recall them today. . . . Such family traditions challenge the notion that the fads, technologies, how-to manuals, and addictions of modern life have somehow taken the place of the time-tested wisdom fashioned in the crucibles of earlier generations."

So writes Ralph Nader in the opening of this delightful and surprising book. Known for his lifetime of activism, Nader looks back in these page to his serene and enriching childhood in small-town Connecticut to reconnect with seventeen key traditions—from listening to learning, patriotism to argument, work to simple enjoyment—that he absorbed from his parents, his siblings, and his community. Warmly human, rich with sensory memories and lasting wisdom, it offers a modern-day parable of how we grow from children into responsible adults—a reminder of how family and friends can teach us how to live in a civil society.