I’ve been writing about natural food (wild and homemade) for about 50 years. In the 1970s  I was part of a groundswell of young people hoping to create a better society. We fled the big cities for rural communes, and we formed communities of cooperation and back-to-the land values. It wasn’t easy and we made lots of mistakes. 

They called us hippies. We learned to grow gardens

We learned to bake bread

We protested the Vietnam War

And of course  there was always sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.

My new novel Everything We Thought We Knew is set in Bella Vida, a 1970s commune. It’s fiction but in many ways it’s my story and the story of thousands who tried to fashion a better better society. Join the residents of Bella Vida to be transported into the grit, dreams, and heartbreak of the era. Like most communes, Bella Vida eventually disbands.  But that was not the end of the story for its residents. Thirty years later a child born there, now an adult, forces long-held secrets to be revealed and changes everyone’s life forever. 

Reviews:

Her characters are delightfully dimensional, and her creative twists of plot keep the reader riveted. A delight!  — C. Laughton

In Everything We Thought We Knew, Niethammer immerses us in the back to the land movement of the early 1970’s to explore what constitutes a good life. Is it the untested visions of idealistic youth or the compromises that inevitably define middle age? –Margaret Grunstein

Christie arrives with a sincere desire to change her life and maybe change the world, but she also carries a self-righteous certainty about how things are supposed to be which is quickly derailed in this commune. She is rescued by her curiosity, adaptability, and open mind. – Ann Evans

A rollicking romp through the 60s/70s and a woman’s heroic story, set in the foothills of Sky Island country in southeastern Arizona. With its wonderful characters and poignant surprise ending, this is Carolyn Niethammer’s beautiful, page-turner storytelling at its best. –Rick Brusca

Be transported back to 1970, protest the Vietnam War, frolic during invented holidays, and dance under the stars at an Indian ruin. You can find  Everything We Thought We Knew in paper and ebook direct from the publisher, Booklocker and at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Walmart.com