Gail Caldwell traces a path from her west Texas girlhood through her emergence as a young daredevil, then as a feminist --- a journey that reflected seismic shifts in the culture itself. Caldwell’s travels took her to California and Mexico and dark country roads, and the dangers she encountered were rivaled only by the personal demons she faced. BRIGHT PRECIOUS THING is the captivating story of a woman’s odyssey, her search for adventure giving way to something more profound: the evolution of a writer and a woman, a struggle to embrace one’s life as a precious thing.

In a span of 10 years, Gail Caldwell had lost her best friend, her mother and her dog. Making matters worse, the polio she'd contracted in her infancy had reduced her stride to a painful limp, and it seemed things would only get worse. Then, a routine doctor's visit revealed that a common surgery could restore her gait. She would soon discover how many other things it would restore: her sense of her self was not in decline, but powerful and potent.