One summer in 1940, Mia Elkovsky Phoebus shared a run-down house on a wharf with a ragtag group of artists and dancers. One of these unknowns was Tennessee Williams, who became America's leading playwright. Tennessee immortalized Mia as the character "Miriam" in his play "The Parade," and repeatedly referenced "that glorious summer of 1940" in his memoirs. But the whole story has never been told. Part memoir, part tell-all, and part original poetry, this book brings fresh aspects to Williams' biographical history. It also shares highlights of Mia's storied life, and brings her elegant poetry to a fresh audience. Now 94 years old, Mia Elkovsky Phoebus adds her first-person perspective to an extraordinary artist's life. Praise for this book: Provincetown and the summer of 1940 come alive in this narrative that could have been lost forever. The author's own finely wrought poetry is a welcome addition, some of it dedicated to the memory of the great playwright. No one who loves the plays of Tennessee Williams can afford to miss this book.-Mr. Albert Tucher, Principal Librarian, Newark Public Library Pull up a wicker chair with ice tea in one hand and this book in the other. "Walking the Dunes," with its oral narrative resonance, sits you beside a remarkable woman as she speaks from her memory and her heart. 'Womb girl', in Tennessee speak, provided a steadying, if unheralded, presence to a tormented young playwright. She does the same for the reader, taking us on a personal journey, through her poetry and narrative, into history, good and evil, psychological torment, and reckoning of our lives. Has there, for example, ever been a better description of despair as it ... "settles among brain cells like rattling snakes, biting their tails. I sit and slowly digest Eternity." Mia will touch you. Don't miss this gift for your soul. -Dr. Vicki K. Harvey