No Rules

The daughter of working-class Connecticut parents seeks to escape the trap of conventional society by running away to California in this memoir. Dukett was barely 16 years old in 1971 when she and her 21-year-old sister, Anne, packed up a few belongings. They jumped in the car with Anne's boyfriend, Eddie, to drive from South Windsor, Connecticut, to California, where a free and easy life beckoned. Though she had some empathy for her parents, the author, like many of her generation, felt constrained by their caution and conservatism and the limited options of their lives. Long-haired hippies and sunny California seemed to offer unlimited freedom and opportunity. Dukett gave barely a backward glance to her hometown as she, Anne, and Eddie hit the road: "Let them eat their hearts out, wishing they were free like us." Walking in the hippie mecca of Venice Beach, the sisters met Ed, an older man, who became protector and predator. It was a fitting introduction to a life that was both carefree and precarious, existing on the edge of poverty in a haze of marijuana and idealistic aspirations to a soundtrack of folk-rock music seemingly written just for the siblings. Over the next three years, the author followed the counterculture dream to Boston, Canada, and a commune in New York, stuffing loads of experiences and growing self-awareness into a short time. Dukett's revealing memoir effectively captures the restless disillusionment of many members of the generation that came of age during the '60s and '70s. She is particularly articulate about the sexism that permeated hippie culture and the lifeline that the women's liberation movement offered to young female adults who had been demeaned by a "free love" ethos that frequently meant exploitation and rape. If readers occasionally become exasperated with the author's self-destructive choices, there is much to applaud in her process of self-discovery. This illuminating coming-of-age account chronicles a young woman's counterculture journey. (acknowledgements, about the author, suggested discussion questions for readers)

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