Part One
Walker uses these long-form essays to disclose her deepest influences as a writer. She also spends time explaining what it feels like for her to write, and she details some of her concerns with the craft of writing and authorship. She feels most influenced artistically by the writing of Flannery O'Connor, Zora Neale Hurston and a short list of others. She includes the essay "The Black Writer and the Southern Experience," which discusses the role of race in her art theory.
Part Two
This section is comprised of Walker's political theory. She tells in essays how influential the social movements of the '60's were to her understanding of self. She feels especially shaped by the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., an absolute hero in her estimation. She tells in an essay called, "My Father's Country is the Poor," about how poverty shaped her political opinions, and about how her political views are an extension of her love.
Part Three
This section deals with the sadness and brokenness that Black Americans live with in their broader communities, as the effects of systemic racial injustice is still felt across the country. She deals with more intimate issues as well, such as her own role in her community, about her personality, and about her experience of self.
Part Four
This miscellaneous group of essays is primarily a collection of thought experiments, like, "If the Present Looks Like the Past, What Does the Future Look Like?" which is essentially a roundabout essay on karma, time, and the value of human decisions. Essentially, she explores virtues (like social justice), vices (she mentions the nuclear option in warfare), and the meaning of a human life.
