first daughter of Leonard Samuel Shoen, founder of U-Haul.
I'm Mary Anna Eaton
first daughter of Leonard Samuel Shoen, founder of U-Haul.
I have been a maker—a creative person—all my life, and came to biography with the belief that writing, like painting, is an act of composition. That perspective shaped the way I approached this book, working toward structure and clarity within a complex and personal story.
As the daughter of Leonard Samuel Shoen, founder of U-Haul, I drew from his archive of personal papers, autobiographical drafts, and diaries to reconstruct the life behind the public record. The work unfolded over years of research, transcription, and analysis, requiring a careful balance between intimacy and distance.
Trained in studio arts and architecture, I later operated two contemporary art galleries—Eaton/Shoen Gallery in San Francisco and Eaton Fine Art in West Palm Beach—where I was immersed in the culture of artists and ideas from around the world. These experiences have shaped my understanding of material, form, and process, and all have informed my writing.
For the past fifteen years, my practice has been in silver and goldsmithing, endeavors that render expression at the scale of a handheld object.
