Moore’s memoir opens with a scene recounting her first experience with the ocean at age six, when a wave knocked her down and her father pulled her out of the water. Moore believed her father took too long to rescue her, and she was unable to tell either parent this.

The eight members of Moore’s family, the Greens, were “river people” from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Located at the foot of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkadelphia is where the Ouachita and Caddo rivers converge. When Beth Moore was six, her father, Major Albert Green (called Dad), purchased a Volkswagen bus and took the family on a camping road trip to visit cousins in north Florida.

Dad and his wife, Aletha Green (called Mom), had five children. At the time of the road trip, Tony was four, Beth was six, Gay was nine, Wayne was 14, and Sandra was 18. Moore’s maternal grandmother, Minnie Rountree (Nanny), lived with them and also went on the trip.

The family stopped at the Fort Walton Beach campsite in Florida, where—after Dad struggled to set up the tent—they all piled inside.

Moore pauses the story to reflect on how separate each family member was despite their physical closeness and shared history.