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"In presenting this little volume to the world, my heart sinks as I fear its judgement. For after all the changes of an eventful life, even with these white lines upon my temples, there yet lingers--but timidly now--the desire of my early days--I still wish to be beloved!" 

“Memories of a Grandmother by A Lady of Massachusetts [Mrs. A.M. Richards]”  is a 141-page autobiography. Dedicated to her family, the story of Richards' life recounts her struggles and triumphs: her childhood with her grandparents; her "successful marriage" to a physician; their move west and the subsequent dissatisfaction at rural life; their relocation to the West Indies; the death of her husband; returning home; the births and deaths of different children; and finally her son’s marriage. The book is dedicated to her family and grandchildren, and red binding is common in gift books in the 1850s. It is a story of "giving ardor to virtue, or confidence to truth," punctuated with hymns and poetry, and she concludes the book with the hope in the Dean of St. Pauls' quote that "none write so ill, that he gives not something exemplary to follow, or fly."