0The habits of a lifetime ebb slowly, and so we have this honest, moving and amusing account of a retirement that began, in 2014, when beloved Texas writer Leon Hale was 93.

In his inimitable voice, Hale reveals his personal joys and regrets as he traverses the territory of old age, travelling through time and place from his spot on the old front porch at Winedale.

We're with him at the dinner party where he told an 11 PM story at 8:30; we learn why he doesn't like the ocean, but loves the shore. For the first time, he shares the World War II experience that haunts him still; and relates the sad drama of his first divorce. We watch turf battles between blue birds and chickadees, and observe his mother's long effort to teach a parakeet her favorite Bible verse.

There are health challenges, yes, and the give and take that goes on in a happy marriage. Through it all, however, flows the unstoppable optimism that has sustained him through every crisis.

For everyone who has wondered what it's like to approach their hundredth birthday, here is one inspiring and truthful answer, told with the special sheen of wit and human feeling that we have come to expect from this fine writer.