"Notes on a Writer's Life" is Richards' account of his more than fifty years as a writer. It chronicles his early childhood, his high school years of turmoil and rebellion, and his uneasy relationship with both publishers and academics. Throughout, Richards records his continuous investigation into human conflict, into the chasm between the seeking of power and the knowledge of love. The book also deliberates on his examination into the nature of violence, both overt and coercive, that he has considered in thirty-five books. He describes his travels to various parts of the world, his love of Spain, and his fight against alcoholism. Crucially, he recounts how for years his wife Peggy was his greatest ally and supporter. Notes on a Writer's Life also includes his relationships with other writers and his views on writers like Orwell, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky. He reflects on the absolute necessity of reaching toward a spiritual life (if not a religious one) as well as his knowledge of war and revolutions, and how both swallow humanity's greater need for justice and liberty.