The author of  The Group , the groundbreaking bestseller and 1964 National Book Award finalist that shaped a generation of women, brings reminiscences of her girlhood to this intimate and illuminating memoir How I Grew  is Mary McCarthy’s intensely personal autobiography of her life from age thirteen to twenty-one. Orphaned at six, McCarthy was raised by her maternal grandparents in Seattle, Washington. Although her official birthdate is in 1912, it wasn’t until she turned thirteen that, in McCarthy’s own words, she was “born as a mind.” With detail driven by an almost astonishing memory recall, McCarthy gives us a masterful account of these formative years. From her wild adolescence—including losing her virginity at fourteen—through her eventual escape to Vassar, the bestselling novelist, essayist, and critic chronicles her relationships with family, friends, lovers, and the teachers who would influence her writing career. Filled with McCarthy’s penetrating insights and trenchant wit, this is an unblinkingly honest and fearless self-portrait of a young woman coming of age—and the perfect companion to McCarthy’s  Memories of a Catholic Girlhood .   “This reminiscence will appeal to admirers of [McCarthy’s]  Memories of a Catholic Girlhood . Such universal experiences as an adolescent girl’s painful awakening to sex, her first love affair, her discovery of books and ideas involve the reader because of the author’s . . . relentless candor and graceful style.” — Publishers Weekly “A fascinating account.” — Library Journal “A cause for celebration—the first installment of McCarthy’s autobiography, as candid and iconoclastic as you would expect. . . . Not only a refreshingly un-retouched self-portrait but an unromanticized depiction of a society experimenting with a whole new set of familial, religious and sexual values . . . depicted with McCarthy’s unerring eye for the telling detail, without false modesty or mitigating excuses. . . . Readers will be grateful for—and dazzled by—her frankness. A compelling reminiscence by one of America’s major talents.” — Kirkus  Reviews MARY MCCARTHY (1912–1989) was a short-story writer, bestselling novelist, essayist, and critic. She was the author of The Stones of Florence and Birds of America, among other books.