Nelson began to write the book which would be described as "powerful" by a
New York Times Book Review critic, and which would win several citations:
And One for All. For this book and others, Nelson has received praise for her complex portrayal of young characters, her intensely detailed settings, and her treatment of difficult issues.
Nelson was born in 1948 in Beaumont, Texas, to a family which eventually included eleven children altogether. Her father was a former Junior World Champion calf roper, a tap dancer, and a World War II veteran as well as an insurance executive; her mother was a ballerina, story teller, and real estate agent. As a small child, Nelson loved to hear her mother read books and tell stories (especially about the pirates that were supposed to have buried treasure on the Gulf Coast). When she grew older, she enjoyed family trips to the library. Nelson wrote her own stories, poems, and plays, and with the goal of becoming a stage performer, she took singing, piano, and dancing lessons.
Nelson explained to AAYA that her childhood memories provide inspiration and material for her work as a writer: "Everyday when I work I'm digging into my past." Although Nelson recalled a "very happy childhood," she felt that "even the happiest childhood can be pretty traumatic--the years eleven to thirteen can be tough for anybody." Nelson's own memories of those years are "vivid." "Even in a big happy family I think you are just so beset by doubts.
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