I love reading about this time period. Ilene’s story was so captivating and had me wishing I grew up in the 60s and 70s. There need to be more coming of age books during this time.

Hippie Chick will bring back fond,memories for many of those,growing up in the 1960. This us an engaging memoir of a young woman finding herself in the age of free love.

Hippie Chick paints a vivid picture of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll culture of the 1960's. We travel along with Ilene English as she moves away from home and tries to make her own way in the,world. Mind-expanding experiments with various psychedelics and a series of failed relationships with spectacularly unsuitable men help to keep the reader engaged.

I enjoyed this title and would absolutely recommend it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this title to review from Net Galley.

#HippieChick#NetGalley

This was pretty different as you follow Ilene, who is the youngest of six kids and the last to leave home in New Jersey. Her mother died when she was sixteen, and while she loves her father, she wants out of the house as he is difficult and temperamental. When her sister Carole provides her with a plane ticket to California she finally has her way out and joins her and her lawyer husband there. She starts growing up rather quickly from this point though she is still naive to the ways of men. Her life will become quite bohemian in short order without even trying. Things get even crazier as it goes along, and Ilene seems to land in one jam after another with Carole and/or her hubby coming to her rescue in her younger years. Not only is she a hippie chick with a love for marijuana and the occasional LSD trip; but she seems to become a vagabond too, moving more than anyone I’ve ever heard of that wasn’t military.

This is certainly a read from the times, a memoir of Ilene’s different circumstances back during the 1960s as she traveled the US and Hawaii trying to figure out where she belonged. I’d recommend for more adventurous memoir readers, and those who like coming of age stories in the 60s & 70s. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Ilene English, and the publisher.

Before I begin my book review of, “Hippie Chick” by Ilene English, let me begin on a personal note: The Hippie movement started in the United States in the mid-60s – when I was a young teenager in Madras, in far away India. Yet many aspects of the movement fascinated us. During my college days my friends called me “Tripper” after the character in a popular cartoon column called, “Bringing Up Father.” I heard the name of the character was changed to “Groover” later as “Tripper” had connotations of drug usage. I, of course, had just the name and nothing beyond that !!!

I am grateful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.


As her book says, it is about her coming of age in the ’60s. I must thank Ilene for writing a very moving and personal book in which she is brutally frank. She writes of the choices she made, be they right or wrong, with a great deal of honesty.

The story begins in 1962 when she was 16 and lived in Irvington, New Jersey. She was the sixth, and the youngest child- of a conservative Jewish family. There were three elder girls and after a gap of six years two more girls and a boy. Ilene was closest to Carole ( to whom incidentally this book is dedicated) who pretty much looked after her, as their mother was often ill. Her mother had her first heart attack when Ilene was eight. Their father owned a store which over the years became unprofitable as he was moody, his wife was ill, and he didn’t get help in the store as the kids grew up and went away, one after the other. He ultimately sold the business and English’s Mill Road Sweet Shoppe became Mattie’s Luncheonette.

When her mother died, Ilene got a big break when her favourite sister Carole sent her an air ticket to San Francisco, California where she lived with her husband David Glickman. Not surprisingly, Ilene grabbed the chance to get away from Irvington and her domineering father. She soon settled down in California and got used to a very different kind of life. Carole and David were extremely supportive of her.

You need to read Ilene’s story for yourself. The events in her life speak of an insecure girl without strong roots who was swept away with whatever came before her. An abortion at 18 followed a short lived affair and then there were more relationships including an extremely complex one with her husband, Larry.

Ilene describes life in the San Francisco of those days in graphic detail. She also spent a number of years in Hawaii when it was relatively less crowded. The story also speaks of her sessions with Dr Fariborz Amini, a pschoanalyst; her time with the jazz playing Earl; at the Farm community led by Stephen; and her later years in Eugene, Oregon.

The book ends with her return to California, her marriage to Don and her graduation from college in her mid-40s. She is now in her 70s and still practices as a Marriage and Family Therapist. You could say that much of her life was unplanned and she was like a leaf swept by a wind. But as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you, when you are busy making other plans.”

A thoroughly enjoyable book which captures so vividly the social scene for the youth in an era long gone by.

The magic in "Hippie Chick: Coming of Age in the '60s" by Ilene English begins with Chapter 9, which is about the author's recollections of Dr. Fariborz Amini, a Freudian analyst English started seeing when she was 19 years old.
She saw Amini for three months and used her sessions to tell real-life high school stories, including the times she and a friend shoplifted department store clothes.
The magic I mentioned is the moment I know my interest is captured. I got so caught up with Amini, I was motivated to use Google as my gateway to find out more him and I know will do the same with the many other people English wrote about.
Of course, along with my Amini internet search, I was eager to find out more about English and whether she is on social media. She is. Yes. So I became a Twitter follower because I am a fan of "Hippie Chick."
There's so much more to tell about Chapter 9, the most memorable chapter in the book, but I'll leave it at that. I'm not here to give a "Hippie Chick" summary. I'm here to recommend "Hippie Chick."
Many thanks to She Writes Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Ilene English definitely lived the quintessential hippie life. The youngest of six, Ilene had a childhood that left her with many voids. She was closest to,her sister Carole who threw her numerous lifelines. English moved out to California and lived in the center of the counter culture movement. She had a propensity for tempestuous relationships and experimented with drugs and New Age spiritualism. She moved around from Hawaii to Oregon, always looking for acceptance, contentment, and love. I think most of the first four decades of her life she was seeking, but never finding. I liked the author's epilogue as she follows through with updates on the major influences in her life. A good read for anyone who wonders what being a hippie was all about.

OMG this book was great!! The very vibrant story within the pages will catch and hold you till the end. You find yourself reading every word for details and the ability to paint a mental canvas.

This was a great read and brought me back to my adolescent years .I would recommend it to anyone who grew up through the '60's.

English's life story is an interesting one - often tragic, often fun, usually fueled by poor decisions (both her own and those of people around her). As she describes all of the people moving in and out of her life (especially the guys), the rampant narcissism and selfishness in the name of "peace and love" is hard to stomach. If anyone is still viewing "the counterculture" through rose-colored glasses, this book is a necessary rude awakening. I was relieved when English named these problems, and dove a little bit into the why and the ripple effect of the consequences (though I wish there was more of that).

The writing was a little bit stilted and could've used more polishing, and in places English still comes off as that aimless, naive girl with stars in her eyes. But overall this held my attention well and was an engrossing look behind the curtain of the idolized 1960s.

Having been there myself at ages 15 to 18 I can't really be too objective. While there is good and unique history here I found it too personal. I don't think the average person wants to know the intimate details. I didn't. I wanted to see an American overview. I found it discordant, though, because of the dissimilarities between this account and my own very well remembered experience.
I do think it's quite good for the younger generations who really have no idea what the era was like.

Oh my gosh, I loved this story. What a life Ilene English has led. I was only 15 during the summer of 1968 and leaving in upstate New York but I had a friend who left for Haight Ashbury and he would send me postcards describing what was happening there. Kudos to Ms. English for surviving this insane time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book takes the reader on quite the ride. From San Francisco to Hawaii, then to a commune inTennessee to Oregon, the reader gets a glimpse of life in the 60s and 70s.

What a read and what an adventure! I really enjoyed this book, it was filled with ups and downs and read at a good pace. I've always been interested in the 60's as it has a nostalgia of glamour and freedom and its great to read about it from a contemporary.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced electronic copy of this book. All opinion are my own.

Solid tale of life in the '60s. I lived it and this was a very realistic portrayal of the times. The writing is compelling and the arc of the story is arresting. We come to know the author E#nglish very well.

This memoir paints a vivid portrait of the author during the turbulent 60s: free love and free drugs,. it reads almost like a potboiler novel, except these were her experiences and a life well lived, with numerous partners and spiritual teachers along the way. English comes from a "generation where women put men's needs before their own," and she admits that was her touchstone: "it is not that men held me back, it is that I held myself back." The dawn of the feminist movement had its roots in many of the communities where English lived: Haight/Asbury, Eugene Oregon, Hawaii, and a commune in Tennessee. Well worth reading to lean from her experiences.

With the recent rash of best sellers focusing on coming of age in the sixties, I was attracted to Hippie Chick as a non fiction book.

Ilene English was born in Irvington, New Jersey, the "baby" in a family of six children, with only one brother, David, her immediate senior. Her father struggled to support his large family, and her mother suffered from prolonged illness throughout most of Ilene's childhood. Although the family was Jewish, they were mostly non practicing. In high school, her exhausted mom encouraged Ilene to take up secretarial skills - explaining to ilene that these skills could always be handy if you are in a pinch and need a job fast! Ilene treasured her brother, although as kids he never treated her kindly. Her sister Carol turned out to be her saviour, and although Carol married and left home, she never forgot about Ilene. When Ilene finished high school she left Irvington, New Jersey, to join Carol and her husband David in San Francisco, and thus her "Hippie Chick" life began. That life took her from San Fran to "island hopping" in Hawaii, to the Pacific North West, to "The Farm" in Tennessee, to Eugene Oregon (#thesaturdaymarket), and finally, back to San Francisco years later. Ilene describes what it was like to come of age through the 60's, 70's and 80's as a hippie, and as a woman, and it was not easy. She craved the feeling of being connected to a man, to be in a marriage, and to have a baby, which actually did finally happen for her, although that marriage did not last. Ilene successfully becomes a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California, opens her own stained glass studio, and most importantly, is a grandmother now.
I loved travelling back in time with Ilene and experiencing her hippie existence vicariously through her experiences. It was truly eye opening. I also love the cover of your book! Thank you for sharing your experiences in #hippiechick, and thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read this e-ARC. 5 stars!

I very much enjoyed vicariously living the life of the author as she recounted her years.The experience was a nice escape to early times. I do wish she was more of a hippie chick like others I have known throughout my life, who were a bit more flamboyant and experimental in finding their selves.

Wow, just wow. Such a great story of a jewish girl from New Jersey experiencing lifes struggles. I throughly enjoyed reading about her hippie experiences and travels. A truly great read, I couldn't put this book down. Really shows how other generations struggle just as much but also how much times have changed. Enlightening and eye opening.

I enjoyed this fast-paced adventure of a little Jewish girl from Jersey turning into a full-blown hippie. Ilene overcame many obstacles, and had some soul-crushing moments, but she never let it keep her down for long. I recommend this book to anyone, like myself, who wishes they could have been in San Francisco during the 60’s and eaten chocolate cake with Janis Joplin.
This book doesn’t sugar coat, it doesn’t dress up the experience to make it seem better than it was. The author is honest and raw, and as a reader, I think we all can appreciate that.
I will say that the dialogue at times is a little unbelievable. That is my only critique. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and go far out with Ilene!

Hippie Chick by Ilene English is a great memoir and autobiography focussing on the author herself growing up (albeit way too fast) in the 60s.
Reading about her trials and difficulties in trying to find out who she is and where she belongs, and the honest mistakes and heartbreaking losses she experiences on that road to get to that destination, are touching and sometimes very hard to read. You want to be able to travel back in time to help, but seeing your own adolescence and young adulthood in her, you realize she has to (and will) find her way on her own.

A touching read. 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review.