This book is a about a remarkable woman, Mamie Van Vorst, who helped change many, many lives for the better. It is about a time where people were more inclined to seek cooperation and help from others when facing difficulties than feel they were isolated and facing huge catastrophes by themselves. The book presents a boarding house, a mini-world--full of individualized characters and peculiar interactions and the loving woman who helped to transfigure lives in that world.