This narrative brings you into the lives of an extended family as seen first by the author at a young age, at the beginning of World War II. As you follow him, you first enter his strong friendships with black children in south Alabama. His parents try to introduce prejudice and send him to an all white summer school and, later, grammar school. McNutt was haunted by the loss of his black friends and wrote his first essay on disappearance and death, for which his teacher gave him an excellent grade. The family moved to Tucson, Arizona, for McNutt's health and education. The family structure began to disintegrate, but McNutt did well in high school and in college at the University of Arizona. He worked his way through college doing projects related to agriculture and to the disease Rheumatoid Arthritis. He had high honors. He was accepted to Harvard Medical School and then later concentrated on Anatomic Pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
After two years of military service, McNutt went to San Francisco for eight years before joining the Pathology department of the New York Hospital. He also worked at the Rockefeller University.
McNutt is retired and writes about his unusual experiences.