The story of a successful professional woman and a reflection on the meaning of existentialism, this autobiography of Hazel E. Barnes is an account of a woman's psychological liberation and the development of a personal philosophy. A translator and adherent of Sartre, Barnes recounts her battles with some publishers and critics. Espousing Sartre's belief that an individual is both the product and the unique expression of his or her period, Barnes describes how she made existentialism her own - introducing it in writing, in speaking and in a television series. Barnes embraced a philosophy initially regarded as scandalous, and became involved in a movement which left its mark on a changing century.