Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary knew she wanted to be a writer. The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye, keen intelligence and inquisitive nature to create stories about the people and things she observed. When Mary's father died during the Depression, her mother decided to open the family home to boarders, and placed a sign next to the front door that read, FURNISHED ROOMS. KITCHEN PRIVILEGES. The family's struggle to make ends meet; the death of her beloved older brother in World War II; her brief career as a flight attendant for Pan Am; sitting at the kitchen table, writing stories, and finally selling the first one for $100 (after six years and some forty rejections!) - all these experiences feature in Kitchen Privileges.