Notes from Nethers: Growing Up in a Sixties Commune

By Sandra Lee Eugster

Book Overview

A unique and honest account of the author's childhood spent on a commune in rural Virginia. Nethers, as the commune came to be called, was the creation of Eugster's idealistic and headstrong mother, Carla. The narrative accurately depicts communal living in all its complexities. An array of colorful characters drifted into the commune, and Eugster writes sensitively about being a child in the midst of all of this. A fascinating memoir with many moments of warmth and humor. Eugster's narrative is also an important piece of American cultural history, and the history of efforts to create a utopian society, which never seem to turn out exactly as planned.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0897335619
• ISBN13: 9780897335614
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A must-read for parents or would-be parents

A must read for any parent or anyone thinking about becoming a parent! Not a how-to-parent book by a psychologist or parent, but a courageous and chilling account of growing up in a 1970's commune with parents who did not understand that being a parent means devoting your life to your child or children, not to your hobbies or careers or simply the things that interest you (a commune in the case of Sandra's mother or work in the case of her father). Eugster describes her lonely, confusing life without an accessible adult (they're all too consumed in their own pursuits) who can help her understand the complexities of growing up and perplexities of adult behavior. She has no reassuring adult who asks "How are you today? Are you feeling okay? Can I be helpful in any way?" To today's parents or would-be parents, if you can't make your child or children your most important life-work, that's fine. Just don't have them thinking that you can go about your life as if they don't need you. Oh, by the way, Eugster's writing entertains anyone who loves language. With a few words, she captures a situation, as when being chased by a pack of dogs, she feared becoming "Alpo in an instant," or when a commune teenager decided to "get on the yellow bus of convention" to attend a public school instead of the commune school. Don't delay. Read the book today for guidance for parents, a child's view of growing up, and simple pleasure.

A matter-of-fact glimpse into what commune life was truly like: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Notes from Nethers: Growing Up in a Sixties Commune is the true-life memoir of author Sandra Eugster, largely centering around her adolescence in a commune in rural Virginia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The commune Nethers, started by Eugster's mother Carla, was meant to promote social change and grounded in the counterculture of the era. Immersed in the culture shock of commune life at the tender age of nine, Eugster had to adjust along with her older sisters to the complexities of commune life, weekly consensus meetings, days of silence, sweat-hut rituals, and more. Yet even more challenging was making the re-adjustment to the outside world after the commune dissolved - studying for SATs (given that her own education ended at third grade), and gradually learning social skills that she'd never had the opportunity to cultivate amid years of isolation from "normal" people her own age. "The wish to return to innocence came with the thought that by removing the barriers between adult and child, the children could be the bridge back to innocence. But the force of nature goes the other direction, and many children lost their innocence devastatingly early. I often think I was fortunate not to have been molested. But in a sense I was. My exposure to sexual matters was premature, as was my close contact with extreme human peculiarities and, ultimately, the harsh reality of adults doing what was right for themselves as opposed to their charges." Highly recommended as a matter-of-fact glimpse into what commune life was truly like: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Life in a Sixties Commune

Sandra Eugster tells a compelling story about her experiences growing up on a sixties commune. She is thrust into an adult life-style without the background and skills to cope with it, and certainly not by choice. The book gives a rich and detailed picture of life on a hippy commune. For those of us who lived during the same times in a more conventional way, it paints a colorful canvas of an alternative way of life. The author's relationship with the other members of the commune, her mother, and sisters involves the reader emotionally and keeps one wondering what could possibly happen next. I highly recommend Notes from Nethers: Growing Up In A Sixties Communeas an informative and entertaining real life memoir.