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"As the 1960s dawned in small-town Michigan, Anne-Marie Oomen was a naive farm girl whose mother was determined to keep her out of trouble-by keeping her in 4-H. In Love, Sex, and 4-H , Oomen sets the wholesomeness of her domestic lessons in 4-H club from 1959 to 1969 against the political and sexual revolution of the time. Between sewing her first dish towel and finishing the yellow dress she wears to senior prom, Oomen brings readers along as she falls in and out of love, wins her first prize, learns to kiss, survives her first heartbreak, and makes almost all of her clothes. Love, Sex, and 4-H begins as Oomen struggles to sew a straight seam and works hard to embody the 4-H pledge of loyalty, service, and better living. But even as she wins her first modeling competition and masters more difficult stitches and patterns, Oomen finds that she is not immune to the chaos of the outside world. After the Kennedy assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and her own short stay in a convent, Oomen encounters the biggest change of all-public school. In this new world of school dances, short skirts, and raging hormones, Oomen's orderly life will be complicated by her first kiss, first boyfriend, first store-bought dress, and finally, first love. All the while, she must negotiate her mother's expectations, her identity as a good 4-H girl, and her awareness of growing social and political unrest. Oomen brings an insightful and humorous eye to her evolving sexuality, religious beliefs, and sense of self. Fans of memoir will appreciate the honest portrayal of growing up between rebellion and tradition in Love, Sex, and 4-H."--Amazon.com.… (more)
User reviews
Simply stated, this is just one of the best damn books I have read in years. Anne-Marie Oomen has somehow magically managed to capture the essence of what it meant to be young in that happening decade that was the sixties. Yes, it could be called a
One other book sprang to mind while I was reading Oomen's memoir. It was Debra Marquart's THE HORIZONTAL WORLD: GROWING UP WILD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, another fine coming of age memoir I have often recommended. But quite frankly, Oomen's tale is uniquely Oomen, a continuation of her other fine books, especially her first, PULLING DOWN THE BARN. Anne-Marie Oomen is a Michigan treasure, and could easily become a national one. I flat out loved this book. My highest recommendation. TEN stars!