Born into a middle class family in Pittsburgh in 1945, Dillard describes her childhood as primarily internal. She primarily related to the world as it concerned her, but in college she discovered an entirely new perspective on life. At Hollins College in Virginia she studied literature and creative writing. Through authors like Henry David Thoreau she learned to appreciate the simplicity and universality of human life. She became absorbed with the ideas of philosophy which have global concern.
For the Time Being is one of Dillard's later books, published in 1999. In the book, Dillard provides her perspective upon experience and the mysteries of life central to all people. She writes about the topics: birth, sand, China, clouds, numbers, Israel, encounters, thinkers, evil, and the now. Some of these topics relate to her experiences personally, while others are more general discussions of phenomena or patterns. Written in thoughtful prose, the book adapts a subtle conjunction of theology and poetry.
