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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Notes from Nethers by Sandra Eugster


Ever wonder what it was like to live on a commune back in the days of "Make Love, Not War"? Sandra Eugster takes you on a journey to such a place in her honest and revealing memoir Notes from Nethers. Sandra grew up on a West Virginia commune founded by her mother in 1969. Sometimes funny, sometimes brutally honest, always interesting, Sandra shares her life openly, telling of the heartaches, culture shocks, and a diverse and unconventional "family" of commune members. Some of her three-dimensional characters flow in and out of the story as transient hippies, and others stay with the commune throughout the book.

Notes from Nethers (published by Academy Chicago Publishers) is a well-written memoir that, despite the many trials of growing up in a commune, is never self-pitying. The story line is easy to surround yourself in and flows seamlessly, weaving back and forth through past and present. The writing style is engaging and entertaining, giving the reader a chance to travel back in time and observe a curious world that most of us would otherwise hear only rumors and tall tales. Without her honesty, Sandra Eugster would have sacrificed a great story - a good lesson for any writer who wants to share their life in the pages of a book.

6 comments:

Tarasview said...

oh what a fabulous sounding book! I am definitely going to try and pick this one up.

P. J. Grath said...

You convinced me, Diana. I put it on today's order for the bookstore. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Michelle Constantinescu said...

Wow, fantastic! I hope you sell lots of copies and get a chance to read it as well!

Sandra said...

Diane,
Thank yor for your generous review of my memoir. It was such a pleasure to read a response from someone who "got" the spirit of the book!

Michelle Constantinescu said...

Sandra, my pleasure! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book, and I wish you the best of success with it!

Anonymous said...

Dr. Eugster! It's been a while since I've thought of those 27 rolling acres.
"Oh Weee Love frogggs/they taaaste kind of neeeat..."