My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera

"In Kephart’s skilled hands, an everyday item made of plant fibers becomes a repository not just for personal history, but also ‘varnished intimacies.’ The poignant irony...is that while paper serves as an instrument for history, it is as ephemeral as the lives it documents.... As she offers insight into the fascinating world of papermaking, Kephart also reveals the intimate connection between memory and its most ubiquitous—and also most fragile—receptacle. An eloquent and unique memoir.”—Kirkus Reviews

“With cohesive eloquence, the book details how paper defines mundane aspects of everyday life. . . . Evocative and informative, . . . My Life in Paper reveals both personal and universal papery magic.”—Foreword Reviews

"Paper, the medium that has served as a canvas for human emotion communication and history, is at the center of this searching memoir grappling with life, memory and legacy.”—The New York Times Book Review

"The history of paper making and the many ways we use paper provide a framework for Kephart’s profound meditation on creativity, memories, connections, and culture…. Kephart weaves in fascinating history about the women behind various inventions and such innovations as the paper bag and dressmaking patterns; she also shares moments of deeply felt personal connections with her family and friends. The beauty of her carefully crafted sentences is striking, but this is not about the solitary practice of writing…. Kephart invites reflection and engagement in her celebration of the many dimensions of the paper world and how reading and writing form an intersection for sharing the parts that make up the sum of each of us."—Booklist