More than just the story of a literary career, Mark Twain's Own Autobiography is securely anchored in the writer's relation to his family. His memories of his beloved wife Livy and daughter Susy -- what they meant to him as a husband, a father, and an artist -- constitute a poignant self-portrait. At the same time, this text draws on Twain's immense autobiographical writings for some of his best comic anecdotes, such as those that recall his rambunctious boyhood in Hannibal, his misadventures in the Nevada territory, and his notorious Whittier birthday speech.