What Was It Like in the '60s?
My new release, GO HOME AND DIE, takes place in 1969, a time that seems to many people younger than I to have been tumultuous, shocking, and downright odd. My students used to ask if I burned my bra (with snickering) and if I went to Woodstock, apparently believing that anyone under the magic age of thirty was a rebel, an anti-war activist, and, if female, a women's libber.
For the people living through it, however, the 60s were was like all other times. People do what they do. Activists speak out, and other people listen, vote, and act as if the rest of it is none of their business. No one knows what changes will come in the long run and what will remain the same.
For people living day-to-day lives, there was the stuff on TV and then there was reality. I was in college, but I never saw any policemen beating students. There was an anti-war rally on campus once, but no one I knew even noticed it. We had tests to study for.
In my hometown there was angst over who would have to go to Vietnam, but there wasn't a lot of discussion of whether it was "right" or not. Men might not relish going to war, but they understand that if there is one, they can be called upon to fight in it.
In the book, Jack represents what I saw at the time: men who did as they were asked, trusting that someone wiser than they had made a right decision. Carrie represents the average citizen, who recognizes what the war cost the men who fought, no matter who was wrong and who was right.
Carrie and Jack have lives to lead and a murder to solve. Vietnam is a reality to them, but it is not
an "issue". Their main issues are staying alive and dealing with the feelings they have for each other, and that's why GO HOME AND DIE is a Vietnam-era book but not a book about the Vietnam era.
Buy GO HOME AND DIE at http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
For the people living through it, however, the 60s were was like all other times. People do what they do. Activists speak out, and other people listen, vote, and act as if the rest of it is none of their business. No one knows what changes will come in the long run and what will remain the same.
For people living day-to-day lives, there was the stuff on TV and then there was reality. I was in college, but I never saw any policemen beating students. There was an anti-war rally on campus once, but no one I knew even noticed it. We had tests to study for.
In my hometown there was angst over who would have to go to Vietnam, but there wasn't a lot of discussion of whether it was "right" or not. Men might not relish going to war, but they understand that if there is one, they can be called upon to fight in it.
In the book, Jack represents what I saw at the time: men who did as they were asked, trusting that someone wiser than they had made a right decision. Carrie represents the average citizen, who recognizes what the war cost the men who fought, no matter who was wrong and who was right.
Carrie and Jack have lives to lead and a murder to solve. Vietnam is a reality to them, but it is not
an "issue". Their main issues are staying alive and dealing with the feelings they have for each other, and that's why GO HOME AND DIE is a Vietnam-era book but not a book about the Vietnam era.
Buy GO HOME AND DIE at http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
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