Hippy Days, Arabian Nights

Katherine Boland

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English

WILD DINGO PRESS
01 May 2017

Memoirs; Travel & holiday

Spanning five decades and as many continents, Hippy Days, Arabian Nights is a funny, moving and compelling story of a woman whose extraordinary life will never be summarised by the words 'could have', 'might have', or 'should have'. Whether it's following her dreams pursuing what she believes in, or chasing matters of the heart, from the outset Australian artist Katherine Boland has grabbed life by the throat and jumped in feet first.

Part One: Hippy Days.

One woman's experience of life in a hippy community that sprang up in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales as part of the counterculture movement an overlooked and relatively untapped period in Australian modern history. In 1976, Katherine and her boyfriend John, like many idealistic young students of the time, abandon their university studies and leave Melbourne to pursue a sustainable and independent life in the bush.

Katherine learns how to milk a goat, mill flour, grow vegetables, spin wool and make mud bricks. Hot water, electricity or a flushing indoor toilet are considered luxuries they can do without. Their earnest quest for a Utopian life in harmony with nature is both hilarious and serious: John finds himself reviving their dying goat with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the back of a ute while on the way to the vet; and, under the stars, alone in the bush, a pregnant and groaning Katherine goes into labour to the accompaniment of New Year's Eve fireworks and the sympathetic mooing of a neighbour's cow. Other moments are less absurd, such as when her daughter's two teenage school friends are abducted and brutally murdered, or Katherine writes account of her father's suicide when she was sixteen.

However, as Katherine reveals, even the strongest woman is vulnerable and the noblest of dreams can perish, observing as she does that in many families 'peace, harmony and mung beans' can founder on the back of drug addiction with its many consequences including family violence and child neglect.

By: Katherine Boland
Imprint: WILD DINGO PRESS
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 320g
ISBN: 9780987381323
ISBN 10: 0987381326
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 May 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Hippy Days, Arabian Nights

'Hippy Days, Arabian Nights is an enthralling memoir of an unconventional life boldly lived, told with sparkling description, affectionate humour and from a full heart.' --Anne Crawford, non-fiction author 'A wonderful depiction of living without bounds and loving without fear. Katherine writes like she lives: courageously, passionately and without regret.' --Kimina Lyall, former South East Asian correspondent, The Australian 'This sparkling memoir will take you deeply into the lives of back-to-the-earth, self-sustaining hippies of the 80s and 90s and a passionate relationship between a feminist free-thinker and an Egyptian man twenty-seven years her junior. Artist Katherine Boland lived on the edge of social mores that most of us cling to. She tells her extraordinary story with humour, insight and a painterly eye.' --Jill Sanguinetti, author 'Funny, wry, heart breaking at times but always utterly absorbing, this is a must read. Katherine will charm readers with her self-deprecating humour and engaging frankness.' --Rebecca Barber, ANU Library