I awoke to this thoughtful review of my book, “Craving Normal,” from a man I don’t know, a former hippie.
I appreciate people are getting some laughs–those come from my kooky experiences and my need to highlight the humor of those experiences. But I was trying to make some points. This man heard me. I especially appreciate his comments as he comes from the generation I lived in the shadow of and wanted to be heard by.
His review:
After a fast start, the text becomes a series of flash chapters prompted by a snapshot or two that follow. The tale picks up once she starts evaluating the inappropriate sex messages her parents and the mass media were providing, and then her recognition of her old-fashioned grandparents as an anchor of propriety and secure expectations on the weekends – essential boundaries for a child in contrast to the “if it feels good, do it” fog at home. She had good reason to see through her parents’ hypocrisy as hippies, especially her father’s tightwad, control freak nature, along with its tendencies for violence.Especially valuable are the reasons Michele gives for turning away from her parents’ generation – the hippie movement’s ultimate breakdown in failing to pass the promise of revolution along. The outbreak of AIDS was only part of the wakeup call.
After that, the subtitle, “An ordinary life veers off track … way off,” takes on a richly ironic and rewarding meaning. The link to the review is here.
Also, while the focus of my stories occur during a specific time, I’d like to think some of the feelings (not fitting in, parental/childhood issues, cultural changes, school issues) can be relatable even to those who weren’t raised in the same era I was.
It’s interesting to hear what readers are taking away, or not getting, from my stories.
*He aptly notes the stories take on a different pace during my 1970’s childhood of mixed messages. My brain was only forming during the early years, so the early vignettes are formed as my five to six year old brain was still forming–trying to make literal sense of the information I was receiving, and it was A LOT of information.
I love his last line:
…the subtitle, An ordinary life veers off track … way off,” takes on a richly ironic and rewarding meaning.
