So Late, So Soon

By D'Arcy Fallon

An irreverent, fly-on-the-wall view of the Lighthouse Ranch, a Christian commune-slash-cult that D'Arcy Fallon called home for three years in the mid-1970s

At 18 years old, when life's questions overwhelmed her and reconciling her family past with her future seemed impossible, D'Arcy Fallon accidentally came upon the Ranch during a hitchhike gone awry. Perched on a windswept bluff in Loleta, a dozen miles from anywhere in Northern California, this community of lost and found twenty-somethings lured her in with promises of abounding love, spiritual serenity, and a hardy, pioneer existence. What she didn't count on was the fog. After living communally with more than a dozen "sisters," marrying before she was ready, and doing domestic chores to keep the ranch afloat, Fallon's life and religious idealism begin to unravel. Through a series of harrowing and heartbreaking decisions, she begins the process that will lead her away from the ranch and into her own life one step at a time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971691533
• ISBN13: 9780971691537
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Hawthorne Books
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

D'Arcy Fallon-Metaphorical Memoir Shines!

"So Late, So Soon" is a memoir of a young woman struggling with identity questions concerning her own spirituality during a difficult time in America. Her upbringing in a mobile-military family paradoxically seemed to give her an early savvy and fearlessness on the outside, yet it sent her into the haven of a Christian commune to turn her life over to God..the famous, or infamous (depending on how you want to look at it) Lighthouse Ranch, near Loleta, Northern California coast. For over 3 years, Ms. Fallon struggled with her own reasons for being there, her quiet, yet defiant attitude towards the intolerant ones around her, and her confusion concerning her inter-personal relationships within her own family. Her poetic voice is never critical of Lighthouse Ranch, and though she clearly doesn't agree with some of what went on while living there, her valiant efforts to understand her 'here and now' are refreshingly familiar. Her tone is honest, and her stories are sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant. This book will take you through the entire gamut of what it means to be a real human being, perplexed by questions of faith, the modern world, and false expectations that can leave us empty. D'Arcy Fallon's words will draw you where you need to be once every so often..into your self, teaching you insight. This book is a must-read. We hope she has more of these stories in her.

Excellent memoir -- an enjoyable read!

This novel is a brilliant, poignant look at an individual's search for identity. D'Arcy Fallon is an engaging writer; in the course of 24 hours, both my husband and I read So Late, So Soon - we couldn't put it down! So Late, So Soon captures the reader's attention and imagination from beginning to end. It is rare to find a novelist with the ability to make you laugh and cry at the same time. D'Arcy Fallon has such incredible talent; her readers will delight in her tale as a young, independent woman who falls under the spell of life on a religious commune.