A Family Place

Book excerpt: One woman’s journey to uncover her family’s history and understand the ties that bind us to a particular place. Encompassing three centuries of manor lords and tenant farmers, Civil War heroes and renegade aunts, award-winning author Leila Philip tells the story of her ancestral Hudson Valley home, Talavera, and the mystery of her attachment to it. After her father’s death in 1992, Leila and her family struggled to find the means to keep their farm intact. This uphill battle led her to examine the forces that compel a family to sacrifice almost everything to hold onto a particular piece of land. Newly republished with a folio of historic photographs and an epilogue that updates the story of the farm and the family to the present, A Family Place addresses the tensions between memory and recorded fact, inviting readers to take a new look at their own sense of home. “Philip is an extremely gifted writer who doesn’t skirt somber emotional notes. She has created a brave, eloquent, and beautifully constructed memoir of a remarkable place and the remarkable family that belongs to it.” — Chronogram “Author Leila Philip presents a tribute to her family’s long and illustrious history, revealing a piece of Americana that is hard to replicate. A Family Place is recommended reading for anyone who wants to see the evolution of the American family first hand.” — Reviewer’s Bookwatch “Philip grafts history, natural history, and autobiography into a stunning performance.” — Maureen Howard, author of Big as Life “Mesmerizing Both narrative threads are profoundly personal. Braided together with insight, they pay homage to the ideals of home and family with a resonance that should extend beyond her home region.” — Publishers Weekly “ an unpretentious, subtly shaded story of the importance of understanding the ghosts and heroes that reside in every ancestral home.” — New York Times “An exquisite rendering of a Hudson Valley family farm, as detailed and colored as a Persian miniature. Philip’s family history is alarmingly transporting, and her sense of place so rich you can taste it.” — Kirkus Reviews(starred review) “Riveting one of the most finely written family histories available.” — Library Journal