Younger Than That Now: A Shared Passage from the Sixties

by Jeff Durstewitz, Ruth Williams

An unforgettable dual memoir that explores an extraordinary friendship ... and illuminates a generation.

It began in 1969, when a group of bored Long Island high school reporters wrote, for a lark, an obnoxious note to Ruth Tuttle, the editor of a school paper in small-town Mississippi. The ringleader, Jeff Durstewitz, impulsively dropped the letter into a mailbox, never suspecting that within a few days he'd receive an electrifying response. In the following flurry of letters, genteelly Southern Ruth and brash New Yorker Jeff explored their feelings about God, race, sex, and life -- and an enduring friendship was begun.

Over the next thirty years, this long-distance bond sustained Ruth and Jeff through love affairs and heartbreak, social change and disillusionment, divorce and the loss of a cherished friend. As their letters chart their passage from youth to middle age, their memoir captures not just the hopes of an era yearning for revolution and the soul of a country on the brink of change, but also the essence of being bright, young, and passionate. Sharp, funny, and true, here is a mirror for a generation -- both then and now.

Genres: Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2000

Reviews

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are between the ages of about 47 and 56 right now (I'm 51), you must read this book. Jeff Durstewitz and Ruth Williams met by letter when they were in high school in 1969. This book is a parallel chronicle of their lives growing up during the Vietnam war, becoming adults, marriages, children, careers. He's from New York and lives there today. She's from Mississippi and lives there today. Their worlds are very different and just like those of a lot of us who grew up at the same time. It's fascinating to read about your own life lived by others.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an idea: two high school seniors have an “unfortunate introduction” which develops into a lifelong friendship. Sounds like something of fiction, but it is in fact not. Jeff, an editor of his school’s newspaper (in New York), joins with some fellow friends one uneventful afternoon and writes a letter to Ruth, an editor of her school’s newspaper (in Mississippi), in response to their reading a copy of her paper; they were rude, offensive, brash, and stereotypical. Upon receipt of the letter, Ruth questions why and proceeds to write a response (with eloquent Southern charm) to the letter addressing each point mentioned concluding with, “Well, I hope to hear from Merrick, New York, soon. This is the end of my letter. I if never hear from you again, it’s been nice knowing you. If I should be so lucky as to get another jewel in the mail – great!”

Ruth and Jeff proceeded to exchange letter on a regular basis at first, but then a little less regularly (as usually happens). The story is told a bit at a time: some by Ruth and then some by Jeff (sometimes you hear both sides of the same situation). The reader is privy to their relationship as well as others which arise throughout their lives. By the end of the story, you know that these two once strangers have become close and dear friends.

I know what you are thinking, “Do they end up together?” Well, I am not going to tell you; you will have to read the book yourself to find out the answer, but I can tell you that the relationship which grows over time has to be one of the strongest alive.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this a rather grudging three stars. I read it because there's a chapter in which one of the authors describes being in a Labor Committee local in the Midwest, which was as grim as I expected. The book suffers from some overwriting and the lack of a good narrative arc (especially for Durstewitz, who comes across as emotionally retarded). But I was surprised by how interesting the two authors' coming-of-age stories about their teens and twenties were. Even though the stories are nothing all that special--no great shocks or movie-of-the-week twists--there's something intrinsically interesting about that time of life, at least to me.

That said, I'm not sure I'd recommend this to anyone who's not somewhat obsessive about 1960s and 1970s memoirs.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a true story written by someone in my town. It's comprised of letters between he & a friend as they come of age in the turbulent 60's. She was a southern belle & he was a rebellious kid from Long Island. They developed a lifelong friendship & their letters over 25 years refelct things going on in society & their own lives during that quarter century.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is also a compilation book of letters that friends sent back and forth to each other through out their lives. One in the south and one in New York or something. The most I can remember from this book is that the main character was friends with the creator of ben and jerry's ice cream.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joanne Coming of age in the 60s. OK. 2003? -- Pretty good