an out of wedlock birth which becomes a societal problem because society has to support the child. Dorothy's religious beliefs developed slowly, first as something simply accepted, then as something she understood and eventually embraced as something personal to her. One of her early memories is of the San Francisco earthquake in 1906 and of the good feelings she had in sharing with others after the disaster, a feeling that would become an important part of her life later when she would turn to helping others through political action as well as charity.
Clearly, Day lived through interesting times and details her life in this book, She had a difficult childhood with a single mother and three siblings, and her mother worked hard to raise these children. It seems clear that Day's political commitment developed during this time as she came to understand the sort of people she would later help. She talks about her friend, Mary Harrington, who told her about the saints and who lived with an even larger family under similar conditions. Her religious beliefs developed during childhood and into adulthood, while the elements that would contribute to her political commitment were present in her childhood, though she would not think in terms of politics until much later. Indeed, she says that her politics began when the reached the university:
Then it was September and school began again. There were no more concerts, and although I continued my walks after school my interest turned to books again and my reading began to be socially conscious (Day 36).
She cites a number of authors who influenced her, and several of these are known for their political commitment and social conscience, among them Jack London and Carl Sandburg, whom she read when her brother was working at his first job on a newspaper:
Carl Sandburg was one of the writers and thi
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