Wild Child: Girlhoods in the Counterculture

By Chelsea Cain

Book Overview

Tofu casseroles, communes, clothing-optional kindergarten, antiwar protests - these are just a few of the hallmarks of a counterculture childhood. What became of kids who had been denied meat, exposed to free love, and given nouns for names? In Wild Child, daughters of the hippie generation speak about the legacy of their childhoods. The writers present a rearview mirror to contemporary culture with an eye on the past they remind us that there is more than one path through the present. Contributors include Lisa Michaels (Split) and Ariel Gore (Hip Mama).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158005031X
• ISBN13: 9781580050319
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

truth & memory

When I read 'Wild Child' my first thought was, "It wasn't just me!" Having grown up in San Francisco in the '60s I can vouch for the fact that although the specifics for each girlhood remembered here vary, the overriding themes are shared. I gave copies to my parents to help them have some insight into the impact their "flower child" choices back then had on me. If you were there or know someone who was, I highly recommend this book.

Honest

This book was excellent, on the topic of family, friends and lovers. I loved it and had a hard time sleeping!

Marvelous Book!!!!

What a great book to read!!! People who were not around the counterculture of the Hippie Generation (like me.. a product of the 70s and 80s) would really appreciate this book because it speaks honestly about the individual experiences of the women who lived through it. And they are not all happy experiences, which makes the essays more three-dimentional. I am sure that everyone who reads this will enjoy it!

A unique and important historical perspective.

This is a deeply felt collection of essays with the single unifying theme of what it was like, for several girls, to be raised by parents that embraced the values and lifestyles of the American counterculture. Most of the essays are episodic, briefly exploring specific experiences. All of them are well written, combining personal histories with an easy narrative flow. I was very moved by one essay in particular -- "Free Love Ain't," by Elizabeth She -- a heartbreakingly honest and brave account of a girl's exposure to the frank sexuality of the free love philosophy of the sixties and seventies. She's description of her experiences and the subsequent psychological repercussions of the free love legacy is a true example of what makes a good memoir. Brava to Chelsea Cain for assembling these stories. The Adult Children of Flower Children have a powerful voice.

Accurate and un-stereotypical of the times.

As a thirty-five year old self-described Adult Child of Flower Children, I was pleased to finally see a book like this published. The writing in all of the essays is eloquently honest and amazingly free of judgements. The experiences of the counterculture from a child's perspective is a difficult one to communicate, because so many "hippie" children have turned away from their past in order to fully integrate into mainstream society. Fortunately, the women writers in this collection have chosen to share their childhoods without either condeming them nor sugarcoating them. One essay, in particular, stands out as an example of the hippie lifestyle gone awry. Elizabeth She's, "Free Love Ain't" is heartbreakingly candid in its description of the psychological repercussions that she experienced as a result of having no sexual boundaries as a child. It strips away the romantic veneer of "free love" and reveals just how damaging sex and sexuality can be when it isn't tempered by love, understanding and responsibility. Brava to Chelsea Cain for bringing these stories together. For those readers interested in a boy's account of growing up in the counterculture, look for my own book, "Huck Finn on Acid," to be published this year.