Structure

Williams divides her memoir into 55 chapters. She titles her chapters using Roman numerals for a significant twist on the numbers. The Roman numerals only go through Chapter 54 (LIV). Fifty-four is a significant number in the book because it is at that age that Williams’ mother died. It is also the age that Williams was when she decided she wanted to write her memoir.

The final chapter in the book is titled Chapter LIV(E). In this chapter, Williams indicates that she plans to live and celebrate her life despite her diagnosis of a cavernous mass on her brain. With the exception of the first few chapters, Williams tells her story on what is more or less a linear time line. Although there are 54 chapters numbered by Roman numeral sin the book, the chapters do not appear to correlate with each year of Williams' life.

Perspective

Williams tells...