[8] She also attended the infamous April 30, 1971, Town Hall, "A Dialogue on Women's Liberation", wherein Norman Mailer, acting as moderator, received a "pummeling" by the panel of high-profile feminists.

[10] Part of her decision to become a psychoanalyst stems from her early interest in narrative and the complexities of character exemplified by literary works introduced to her by her father.

[15] Mailer tells Mike Lennon that "writing this memoir was a second analysis for me", and it was instrumental in helping her understand her complex emotions toward her father and her mother.

[14] This memoir humanizes her experiences with her father through, as critic Nicole DePolo writes, "sharp insights honed by her career as a psychoanalyst".

[16] Mailer recounts the more intense and painful moments with her father and his public life, but also depicts the more private and personal details of their relationship .

[16] According to BookTrib, even well-known incidents — like Norman's stabbing of his second wife Adele (known as "the Trouble"), his participation in the 1971 Town Hall, his disastrous support of Jack Henry Abbott's parole, and his sexual interests and infidelities — are "given new perspective and treated with greater humanity through Susan's eyes".

[17] Bonnie Culver calls Place a "vulnerable, funny, and tough memoir that pulls no punches" and gives access to "very painful and long-buried feelings".