"In 2011, when she was in her late fifties, author and journalist Joyce Maynard met the first true partner she had ever known. Jim wore a rakish hat over a good head of hair; he asked real questions and gave real answers; he loved to see Joyce shine, both in and out of the spotlight; and he didn't mind the mess she made in the kitchen. Before they met, both had believed they were done with marriage, and even after they married, Joyce resolved that...

A special anniversary edition of Joyce Maynard's groundbreaking memoir about coming of age in one of America's most defining decades. Joyce Maynard was eighteen years old when her 1972 New York Times Magazine cover story catapulted her to national prominence. Published one year later, Looking Back is her remarkable follow-up: part memoir, part cultural history, and part social critique. She wrote about diving under her desk for air-raid practice during...