First published 1994
Kennedy brings readers into the messy heart of the 1970s, those forgotten years that fell between the hopeful sixties and the materialistic eighties. Her characters navigate a decade marked by wild contradictions and social upheaval. They move through a world where idealism crashes against harsh realities, where serious political activism exists alongside reckless pleasure-seeking. The story captures people trying to find their footing in years that seemed to lack direction or coherent identity. Kennedy shows how her characters wrestle with the collapse of sixties dreams while the Reagan era looms ahead. The novel reveals the emotional complexity of living through a time that history would later dismiss as tasteless and forgettable. These are the years when America lost its way, and Kennedy's characters embody that confusion and searching.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, activism, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: collapse-of-dreams, found-family
Period: 1970s
182 pages · Paperback · St Martins Press