Dharma Girl: A Road Trip Across the American Generations

by Chelsea Cain

Book Overview

When Chelsea Cain discovered that her mother was suffering from cancer, she was inspired to go on a road journey from Oregon, back to Iowa and the hippie commune where she spent her childhood. This... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1878067842
• ISBN13: 9781878067845
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Gen-X Girl Raised by a Hippie Mother

Chelsea Cain is a gen-x girl with gen-x values. As a young woman she seeks to understand her place in the world. Raised by parents with a 1960's commitment to political liberalism and a hippie lifestyle, McCain wants to get a deeper understanding of her roots. To accomplish this, she travels back to Iowa with her mother. Iowa is where she spent her youth on a communal farm. The story is especially poignant because her mother is ill with melanoma (a serious form of cancer). The immediacy of her mother's melanoma and Chelsea's desire to understand her roots create an interesting and well-written memoir.

dissolving the generation gap

This is a very moving account of a young girl who feels the need to reconnect with her roots. Cain was raised on a hippie commune in Iowa but as a college student in California feels estranged from her background. This spurs a decision to move back to Iowa to rediscover the little girl she was. It's a simple enough premise but it is very well written. Her mother's bout with melanoma is the impetus for the journey. Then there is the search for a former friend thought to be dead which adds texture to the tale. The road trip is a great American motif and Cain handles it in her own unique circumstances. This is a tale about self-rediscovery as Cain attempts to bridge a hippie past with the current gen X values. It is cliché at times but very personal and honest. There is a lot of universal soil in this book. It can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys an honest account of dealing with illness and loss of innocence.

One of the best books I've ever read

Chelsea Cain and I worked together a few years ago at the university newspaper in Iowa City. She was an excellent writer then, and Dharma Girl is wonderful as well. As a person, she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know her. I can't wait for her next effort.