Primarily documents Coley's education at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and her experiences in the American Red Cross while stationed in the United States. Coley discusses growing up on a tobacco farm; her siblings' educations; memorable Woman's College professors and administrators, including Dorothy Davis, Mary Channing Coleman, and Harriet Elliott; and working in the dining hall and a dormitory. " Topics related to her service with the Red Cross during World War II include choosing the Red Cross over the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service-Navy); her family's reaction when she joined; types of recreation provided for hospitalized soldiers; the general morale of the hospitals she worked in; work schedules; Red Cross uniforms; dealing with the emotional stress of working with wounded soldiers; why she stayed in the Red Cross after World War II ended; flexibility of the Red Cross as opposed to the military women's services; and her admiration of President Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt. She also mentions her brothers' experiences in the military during World War II.