Robert McAfee Brown was one of the greatest public theologians of his day. He was a pacifist who enlisted as a chaplain in World War II and who later aligned himself with his students to resist the draft and protest the war during Vietnam; a supporter of civil rights who went on the Freedom Ride to Selma and fought for farm workers' rights; and an ecumenist who participated in interreligious dialogue among Protestant, Jews, and Roman Catholics.

This is his memoir, the story of a modest man who lived life according to his conscience and his faith and who was a model for responsible social activism within and outside of the church. Interspersed with his writing are thoughts from his family members on the turbulent and sometimes frightening events through which they all lived.