Sheila Crider reflects on her life in the arts. She speaks about growing up in Southeast Washington DC and falling in love with reading as a child. And reflects on how living in Washington, DC, and the black intellectual movements of the 1970s helped to share her literary works. Time abroad in the Peace Corps, switching from literary to visual arts while living in France, time as an apprentice in Japan, and jobs that she took early a supplementary income, such as 10 years posing as an model for artists at the Corcoran, are some of the other topics that she touches upon. Central to the narrative is her work as a founding member of “Free DC,” and the ways that ARTS DC: CETA funding helped her to develop her career.