Merton describes his family and the geography that shaped his upbringing. Merton is born in France, but his family moves to the United States, his mother’s birthplace. She dies of stomach cancer when he is very young. Merton remembers her as a stern, rigid woman, but he acknowledges that he only knew her when she was sick. Later, he learns a great deal about her from her diary and from accounts given by relatives after her death.

Merton’s father toggles between keeping Merton and his little brother, John Paul, in school and keeping them with him during his travels. Typically, he chooses to keep the boys nearby. Merton’s father’s travels lead him to Bermuda and eventually back to Flushing, New York. The young Merton’s grandparents have a profound influence on him. He calls his grandmother, who was Protestant, bonnemaman.

In 1925, when Merton’s father discovers he is dying of an illness, he decides to return to France, and he takes Merton with him.

Merton recalls that he was not interested in France, and that he actively protested going there, but he looks back on the experience with gratitude; even his childhood self recognized that France held for him a profound sense of home.