Wild Child: Girlhoods in the Counterculture

The hippie counterculture was an experiment in alternative living and this book consists of autobiographical stories of what it was like to me a child growing up experimentally. The narratives are all interesting and apart from the hippie theme, all different. Some are shocking tales of drug and sexual abuse but others suggest that the ideals of the counterculture of love, freedom of thought, peace and rejection of materialism made for a healthy childhood. You are led to the conclusion that there was no one counterculture but many local ones centered at the family level and what kind of hippie parents you had made all the difference. A neglected gem.

Like all collections, this one was a little spotty. On balance I adored it and the way it evoked my childhood, at least in parts. I thought Cain's piece was great, it was my favorite. Her name on the cover is what led me to pick the book up.

I enjoyed seeing how these women, most of 'em born within 10 years of me, felt about their childhoods from the perspective of grown women. I'd like to see a follow-up, as this came out in 1999.

Of course, I'm biased. My essay, "Strange and Wonderful," appears in this book about growing up in the '70s.

girlhoods on counterculture; rockstar babies

5.05

My essay, "Strange and Wonderful," appears in this anthology.