Growing Up Hippie

by Anastasia Galadriel Machacek

Growing up Hippie is a personal memoir of a young girl named Anastasia who was born and raised during the early hippie era. Packed full of fascinating and unusual childhood events, her story very candidly portrays the unconventional and controversial lifestyle of the early hippie culture. Anastasia gives a voice to a generation who are the offspring from the first wave of hippies. A tell-all story of what life was like being a hippie kid. From living in communes to experiencing the spiritual New Age, her story will captivate you. Aside from personal experiences, this book sheds light on the hippie culture itself. Based on her own interpretation, Anastasia weaves a colorful narration of her take on hippie life and the foundation of the hippie culture.

162 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2012

Reviews

[Kira FlowerChild · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have listed this book as young adult but it is really written more on a middle school level. It is a good introductory book for children who are completely unfamiliar with hippie culture.

Anastasia was born in 1967, the year of the Summer of Love, so her early memories begin around 1973 or so. Her mother lived the true gypsy nomadic hippie life, moving from one place to another, not always having a place to stay, pitching a tent when they had one, and hitchhiking wherever they went. Anastasia's father decided the hippie life wasn't for him and took off early on, so it was just Ana and her mother most of the time, although she did see her father and grandmother occasionally.

This book is a good resource if you are interested in the effect of hippies on American culture and the aftermath of the social upheaval of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The New Age, with its Eastern spiritual influences, was just coming into its own. Ana's mother embraced Sufiism and became a whirling dervish. Her day job was massage therapist. Ana attended several Rainbow gatherings, which made for interesting reading.

This book isn't just for 12-year-olds; I did find parts of it interesting, although there were times when the author explained things on such a basic level I got a little impatient. Of course, children growing up today need the era and its history explained on that level because they have no clue what it was about. So if you grew up during the 1970s, you will probably find this interesting. If you were an adult at that time (I turned 18 in 1971), you will probably react as I did, depending on whether you were a hippie or not (I was).

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gravitate toward any books on the hippie lifestyle, especially of the original 60's/70's era hippies! So of course I was excited to read this! It was a fast and easy read. Not really an in depth look but rather some short "chapters" (usually 1-3 pages) on a specific subject or period of the authors life. I sort of wished she would have expanded more on some of her experiences but I also realize she was recalling her childhood memories so maybe it was difficult to really expand on them? Anyway, I gave it 4 stars....it definitely wasn't the best book I ever read but hey, like I said, I'm a sucker when it comes to hippie culture.

[Sarah Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book outside on a warm breezy summer afternoon.
It made my day. I remember being an ashram hippie in my early twenties with my 13 yr older hippie boyfriend and all the values and exotic people I met in those times. This book felt like a real friend

[Christian Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love learn LSD.