Rolling in the D describes two years of life in and out of Detroit. Themes include the meaning of houses and homes, belonging, abandonment, revival, souls, and personal injury. The work examines life in the city through the lens of the author's experience, and also presents the story of the Heidelberg Project, a folk art environment located in the heart of a languishing central city neighborhood. The author makes efforts to bare the device of her work (especially by way of the artist's statement) and to respect the people whose stories intersect with hers in the manuscript.