For many, including this reviewer, Thursday nights during the 1970s were reserved for viewing their favorite television show, “The Waltons.” It was a chance to live, for those who did not, in a sweet, secure place, if only for an hour.

The show, which was created by writer and producer Earl Hamner, was loosely based on his own family and experiences of growing up on a mountain in rural Virginia during the Depression. Each episode combined well-written stories with “teachable moments” that showcased the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice and kindness to all. The family consisted of parents John and Olivia Walton, played by John Waite and Michael Learned, and grandparents Zebulon and Esther (Will Geer and Ellen Corby). Seven children completed the family, John-Boy, Jason, Mary Ellen, Jim-Bob, Elizabeth, Ben and Erin.

Erin was ably brought to life for nine seasons on the Emmy-winning series by Mary Elizabeth McDonough, who has written about her own life during and after the series in “Lessons From the Mountain: What I Learned From Erin Walton.”

For Waltons fans, there are wonderful tidbits about McDonough’s ready-made television family. She chronicles the fun and mischief on “The Waltons” set and offers insights into lives and personalities of the actors who made up the cast. McDonough recalls some of her favorite episodes of the series and speaks fondly of all the main cast members. Even prickly Grandma remains showered in respect.

From each of them, she shares that she was received and was taught “lessons.” Jon Walmsley, who played Jason, an older brother, proved to be that to her in real life, as he taught her that people of different faiths can still be friends. She writes of him: “Jon, always a dear one, pulled me onto his lap. I settled down and asked him, ‘Well, what are you?’ Tenderly he said, ‘I’m a Protestant.’ I burst into tears and sobbed, ‘Ohhhhh nooo! My mother said we don’t even like each other!’ Jon was so sweet; he calmed me down and assured me we could be friends despite our religious differences. My lesson from his gentle nature was one of pure acceptance.”

Her strict, Catholic upbringing reappears over and over throughout the book. “Catholic school started the perfection issues I still deal with today. It seemed no matter how ‘good’ I was, I would never be good enough for God. I would never have enough indulgences to get anywhere, forget heaven. I was scared all the time. One teacher in particular made me feel imperfect. I felt shamed by her about my appearance, that I was not enough as I was. It was the beginning of trying to change myself to please others.” This false tenet of perfection is a central theme of her writing and life experience.

Although Hamner, Ronnie Claire Edwards and Joe Conley have written memoirs, this is the first book by one of the show’s child actors. Through a series of vignettes, throughout 12 chapters, McDonough spends time looking back on her youth spent on “the mountain.” She paints a dichotomous picture of gratitude and happiness, but also apprehension and depression.

With no formal training, at the age of 10, she was thrown into the waters of acting with a “now swim or drown” attitude. McDonough also candidly and openly shares with the reader her struggles with other mountains in her life, such as body image, failed breast implants, illness and depression. She recounts it all here, memories and experiences, both good and bad, with transparency and honesty.

This is not a “Waltons” memoir, or “Erin’s” story, which may disappoint some. This is McDonough’s life story. The story of someone who has “been a child performer, former child performer, nonprofit worker, filmmaker, wife, mother, blogger, activist, actress, writer, acting teacher and producer.” The book is a quick read, and McDonough writes well. She gives hope to many who have ever felt that surely everyone is better, thinner, prettier and happier than they are. You will meet a woman who now has many roles in life, as we all do. She has learned to move from actress to mother, activist to producer, wife to workshop leader and now author. She strives to be a voice to “help girls and women identify and stop destructive behavior and discover all they have to offer. I am the megaphone that gives silenced women a voice to be heard! I wrote my book from my values of communication, justice and most of all, gratitude. I am forever grateful for my ‘lessons.’ ”

— Reviewed by Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky University Library Special Collections

Editor’s note: Mary McDonough will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Christ Episcopal Church Activity Hall next to the main library. Free tickets are available at all library locations and by email at jaynep@warrenpl.org. For more information, call 270-781-4882.