Starting a Career and Family in the 1960s includes 59 illustrated stories, sprung from the pages of the author's diaries, which she has kept since she was 10 years old. Most of the stories are based in the Los Angeles area of California. They incorporate historical facts and sociological commentary on such subjects as: aerospace, cars, childbirth, children, civil rights movement, closed-circuit TV, college teaching, death, dissertations, education, family, flu, friends, grants, health, holidays, house remodeling, junior high teaching, Kennedy's assassination, military, performing on TV, playpens, pre-school, producing TV programs, relatives, traffic, travel, writing, and Yosemite.