Thinking of Miller Place: A Memoir of Summer Comfort - Tapa dura

In my memory, I am resting in a hammock between a childhood that was and the reality of today. In it, I am in a place where I can still, if only in my daydreams, take off my shoes and run barefoot up the hill.

If you don't have a red-ribbon experience or your own red-ribbon place, I offer you mine-in a sleepy New York town of the 1950s called Miller Place.

In this tender, sparkling memoir, Ethel Lee-Miller reflects on childhood summers at her grandfather's home in an idyllic town on the northeastern end of Long Island. Carefree summertime at Miller Place grounded and sustained Ethel and her twin sister Eileen through the inevitable clumsiness of adolescence and informed the character, beliefs, and values that would serve them forever.

An enchanting oasis of freedom and exploration, Miller Place offered days filled with diving in the waters of the Long Island Sound and evenings lit by fireflies. With her twin always by her side, Ethel savored childhood innocence while coming of age and forming secure, lasting ideals about love, beauty, home, and family.

To this day, Ethel has only to think of Miller Place to be overcome by feelings of comfort, serenity, and belonging.