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No Rules: A Memoir
In this coming-of-age memoir, Sharon takes you with her on a nail-biting adventure through the early 1970s after leaving her sheltered home life at sixteen years old to join the hippies. Yearning for freedom, she lands in an adult world for which she is unprepared, and must learn quickly in order to survive.
As Sharon navigates the US and Canada—whether by hitchhiking, bicycle, or the back of a motorcycle—she experiences love and heartbreak, discovers who she can and cannot trust, and awakens to the Women’s Liberation movement while living in a rural off-grid commune. In this colorful memoir, she reflects upon the changes that reshaped her during that decade, and how the ways in which she and her peers threw off the rules meant to keep women in their place has transformed and empowered the lives of girls and women today.
As Sharon navigates the US and Canada—whether by hitchhiking, bicycle, or the back of a motorcycle—she experiences love and heartbreak, discovers who she can and cannot trust, and awakens to the Women’s Liberation movement while living in a rural off-grid commune. In this colorful memoir, she reflects upon the changes that reshaped her during that decade, and how the ways in which she and her peers threw off the rules meant to keep women in their place has transformed and empowered the lives of girls and women today.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2020
97 people are currently reading
2472 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Dukett
2 books96 followersSharon Dukett is an award-winning author who writes thrillers and memoir. Her memoir, No Rules, won a gold medal in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in Memoirs (Historical/Legacy), and was a finalist in several others.
She worked in information technology as a consultant, programmer and project manager in the private sector, and a deputy director in government, where she learned about the infinite possibilities of what could go wrong: a useful insight for thriller writing.
Sharon lives in Connecticut with her husband, within a short driving distance of her children and grandchildren.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3o0YRbX
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She worked in information technology as a consultant, programmer and project manager in the private sector, and a deputy director in government, where she learned about the infinite possibilities of what could go wrong: a useful insight for thriller writing.
Sharon lives in Connecticut with her husband, within a short driving distance of her children and grandchildren.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3o0YRbX
Website: https://bit.ly/3tvD3qi
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3o60kxR
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2R7EXQy
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
December 8, 2021
No Rules is Sharon Dukett’s coming of age memoir in the early 1970s. She left her sheltered life in Connecticut at age 16, traveling a nomadic lifestyle for multiple years, seeking freedom while also longing to be part of a community. She stayed at communes across the US and Canada, developing friendships and romantic relationships along the way.
This was an interesting story in “a different time.” I wasn’t around in the 1970s and while living in a rural, off the grid commune doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, I think there were aspects of the era I would’ve really enjoyed (including but not limited to the fashion). I admire the women in this period of time and those of earlier decades who resisted the traditional domestic narrative — There is of course nothing wrong with this, often the hardest job of all, I always support having the choice to decide.
I listened to No Rules as an audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Gallagher. It was good and I know I would’ve enjoyed it in print too.
This was an interesting story in “a different time.” I wasn’t around in the 1970s and while living in a rural, off the grid commune doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, I think there were aspects of the era I would’ve really enjoyed (including but not limited to the fashion). I admire the women in this period of time and those of earlier decades who resisted the traditional domestic narrative — There is of course nothing wrong with this, often the hardest job of all, I always support having the choice to decide.
I listened to No Rules as an audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Gallagher. It was good and I know I would’ve enjoyed it in print too.
December 24, 2022
In No Rules, Sharon Dukett shares her experience of leaving home as a teen to live the hippie lifestyle in the early 1970s. It is difficult to read at times as Dukett describes some dangerous situations involving drug use and intimate relationships. However, as the book progresses, we see the author gaining maturity and wisdom. I think it would be a good book to discuss with young adults preparing to live away from home for the first time.
July 7, 2020
I’m going to go ahead and call it — No Rules by Sharon Dukett is the best beach read of 2020, and my favorite read of the summer. Sharon Dukett has written an incredible memoir detailing her the wild years of her youth in the late sixties and early seventies.
The memoir is full of love, sex, psychedelics, adventure, road trips, self-discovery, women’s empowerment, and off-grid living, I mean what more could you ask for in a book.
What made this memoir really unique and quite astounding to me was the fact that the author was a runaway teen. Her experiences at age 16, at the height of the ‘love generation’ blew me away. I couldn’t imagine navigating the world the way she did, on my own, at that age. She is the same age now as my own mother, and just picturing my own mother doing what Dukett bravely did in her teens… well, I just couldn’t even imagine it! I think very few teenage girls would be brave enough to live as free and independently, by choice, as Dukett did.
No Rules also reminded me about what it is like to be a young woman, to navigate through sexism and sexual assault, to have questionable encounters with men, to experiment sexually, to fall in love over and over again with the wrong people and to travel and explore the world with abandon. Despite our youths being decades apart, her inner journey was 100% relatable.
Get this one, read it, and then read it again with your mothers and daughters.
The memoir is full of love, sex, psychedelics, adventure, road trips, self-discovery, women’s empowerment, and off-grid living, I mean what more could you ask for in a book.
What made this memoir really unique and quite astounding to me was the fact that the author was a runaway teen. Her experiences at age 16, at the height of the ‘love generation’ blew me away. I couldn’t imagine navigating the world the way she did, on my own, at that age. She is the same age now as my own mother, and just picturing my own mother doing what Dukett bravely did in her teens… well, I just couldn’t even imagine it! I think very few teenage girls would be brave enough to live as free and independently, by choice, as Dukett did.
No Rules also reminded me about what it is like to be a young woman, to navigate through sexism and sexual assault, to have questionable encounters with men, to experiment sexually, to fall in love over and over again with the wrong people and to travel and explore the world with abandon. Despite our youths being decades apart, her inner journey was 100% relatable.
Get this one, read it, and then read it again with your mothers and daughters.
February 6, 2022
In my memoir, The Pale-Faced Lie, I share with readers my daily attempt to escape a home that was filled with violence and depression, but I never had the courage to run away at age sixteen, as Sharon Dukett did. Her journey is filled with all the freedoms young people think will set them free: sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But it is also filled with dangerous episodes, life on the edge, and the disappointment of people, mostly men, who take advantage of her and hurt her. This is a very brave book by a brave young lady who became a powerful adult and used all of these experiences to become a strong feminist success story. Bravo Sharon, a great story, well told.
May 28, 2020
I appreciate Sharon sharing her story about growing up in the 1970s and joining the women's movement. Which this was a big victory for women to be the leaders and voices that they are today in business and society.
Sharon may have did things like taking drugs or had various relationships but all these things shaped and were a part of her past. You can't change the past but you can embrace and move on from it. Which there is no judgment on how someone lives. That is why I like to read memoirs. You can learn a lot about someone's life.
While, I did like reading this book, I did feel a bit disjointed by my connection towards Sharon. I was not as invested in her as I would have liked to be while reading this book. Yes, this is still a good read.
Sharon may have did things like taking drugs or had various relationships but all these things shaped and were a part of her past. You can't change the past but you can embrace and move on from it. Which there is no judgment on how someone lives. That is why I like to read memoirs. You can learn a lot about someone's life.
While, I did like reading this book, I did feel a bit disjointed by my connection towards Sharon. I was not as invested in her as I would have liked to be while reading this book. Yes, this is still a good read.
June 11, 2020
This was a fascinating memoir to read. I am not a risk taker at heart, so it is interesting to read about someone that can up and leave home at such a young age and have the experiences that Sharon did. She was brave, stood up for what she believed in and had no fear. I cannot say that about myself even to this day and so this was inspiring for that reason alone. Did she do some dumb stuff? Yes. But have I? Yes. So I appreciated her honesty in that regard as well, because it made this memoir very genuine, and although I could not relate to it, I did enjoy reading it and am grateful she shared her story.
Thank you to She Writes Press for the free copy to review.
Thank you to She Writes Press for the free copy to review.
July 22, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Seven Jane
Colourful, adventurous, and transformative, No Rules recounts one woman’s journey from her conservative, Catholic upbringing in Connecticut to a full-blown child of the Seventies. Dukett’s narrative is expressive and emotional, giving her reader a first-hand glance back in time and alongside her journey into 1970s counterculture. The ride is bumpy, full of lessons, colourful experiences, and even colourful characters. It’s also unflinchingly raw and unapologetic, making Duckett’s journey immersive and powerfully resonant as she passes on the lessons she learned surviving in an era that transformed society’s expectations for girls and women.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
Colourful, adventurous, and transformative, No Rules recounts one woman’s journey from her conservative, Catholic upbringing in Connecticut to a full-blown child of the Seventies. Dukett’s narrative is expressive and emotional, giving her reader a first-hand glance back in time and alongside her journey into 1970s counterculture. The ride is bumpy, full of lessons, colourful experiences, and even colourful characters. It’s also unflinchingly raw and unapologetic, making Duckett’s journey immersive and powerfully resonant as she passes on the lessons she learned surviving in an era that transformed society’s expectations for girls and women.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
April 25, 2020
Who should read Sharon Dukett’s memoir, NO RULES? Well, lovers of the memoir genre, of course, for two reasons. One, simply because Dukett’s writing is exquisitely sparse and beyond all modern measure, competent. But, also, because her recall is nothing short of remarkable. Every page documents the early 1970s and every page rings true, both historically and personally.
If you are a Gen X (or even millennial) woman who wonders what the nitty gritty of that early era of modern feminism was really like, this book is a must read. In fact, if I was teaching Women’s Studies I’d put this book on the required reading list. No Rules accurately reports on the shenanigans of a time (and many places) that is quite evocative for those of us who shared them. For the rest of you, too young to have experienced it in any way but through literature, or to those who are Dukett’s peers but yet somehow sat out this period without living it, you can trust that her work will inform you of what you missed out on. The good and the bad.
Everyone in possession of a laptop these days seems to believe that they can write a book, or, lord help us all, their memoir. But, should all those books be written? Really? I say, only if you have a good story to tell and you can tell it well. Beyond flawless exposition, Dukett’s memoir also offers an unflinchingly honest recollection of her years in late adolescence as a “hippie chick” runaway and in her competent story telling hands that is one hell of a story.
If you are a Gen X (or even millennial) woman who wonders what the nitty gritty of that early era of modern feminism was really like, this book is a must read. In fact, if I was teaching Women’s Studies I’d put this book on the required reading list. No Rules accurately reports on the shenanigans of a time (and many places) that is quite evocative for those of us who shared them. For the rest of you, too young to have experienced it in any way but through literature, or to those who are Dukett’s peers but yet somehow sat out this period without living it, you can trust that her work will inform you of what you missed out on. The good and the bad.
Everyone in possession of a laptop these days seems to believe that they can write a book, or, lord help us all, their memoir. But, should all those books be written? Really? I say, only if you have a good story to tell and you can tell it well. Beyond flawless exposition, Dukett’s memoir also offers an unflinchingly honest recollection of her years in late adolescence as a “hippie chick” runaway and in her competent story telling hands that is one hell of a story.
September 27, 2020
If this book was sold without a cover and without indication of fiction or nonfiction, a reader would easily assume it was the former. The author is exclusively contingent on narrative, the events that happened in her life in a linear time progression, narrowly reporting conversations, people, and things as opposed to deeply exploring the reliability of memory. The text is purely a dry, retrospective account without insight into the author's psyche or her motivations to be a renegade. It is easy to infer that the author feels her story is so colorful that it overrides the need to indulge anything else. I found significant gaps in what could be a deeper text exploring her relationship with her sister, the politics and culture of the era, and her state of consciousness while exploring drugs. Instead, the crux of No Rules is "I met Ed. We got high. I met Joe. We got high. Next I met Paul and we got high." There is nothing more to her story other than drug experiences and sex, and its documentation of those experience is not compelling.
Given the unclear dictation of the book and its own existential identity crisis as the author's, Dukett's attempt at memoir is rather diluted as the text's offering is meager.
Given the unclear dictation of the book and its own existential identity crisis as the author's, Dukett's attempt at memoir is rather diluted as the text's offering is meager.
June 6, 2020
This book blew me away! The author and I are exactly the same age. We would have graduated from high school in the same year. Neither of us ended up on the path that was expected of many young women back in the early 70s but we found ourselves in drastically different ways. My mouth dropped open reading page after page. Not from judging her at all, mind you, but just being astonished that she was so adventurous and brave at such a young age. Frankly, the book was a real nail biter but I googled her so knew that all would be well. But where's Anne?
August 7, 2020
Sharon left her parents home, to be free from her parents and live the hippie lifestyle!. She goes to California to live on a commune. She tells the story of her experiences, drugs, lovers, friends, and traveling to many different places! Some of her experiences made me feel sad, and others that I found to be exciting! I found this memoir so insightful and I enjoyed hearing about this time in history, as I was born in the 70s, so I've really only seen pictures and heard stories from family. I love the whole "hippie" vibe, and I had a fun time reading this one!! Definitely recommend you picking this up if you are interested in that time period!!
Thank you to the publisher, author and suzyapprovedbooktours for this gifted copy to review, all opinions are my own!
Thank you to the publisher, author and suzyapprovedbooktours for this gifted copy to review, all opinions are my own!
June 13, 2020
The story told by Sharon Dukett about her girl-to-young woman transformation exquisitely captures her defiant nature, apparent at the age 16. In an exploration of self-worth, Ms. Dukett describes her choice to flee from her conservative Connecticut home into the arms of the California hippie lifestyle with intimate and honest detail. Much of her time in California revolves around her relationship with men. With each successive sexual encounter, Ms. Duckett becomes more aware of how the double standard in sexual attitudes favors men and punishes women. Over the three years of her life that she recounts, Ms. Dukett eventually frees herself from the limitations of West Coast hippie life in order to fulfill even more complex needs. She becomes keenly aware of her desire to live in a natural environment and joins a commune that subsists with little material wealth, but with a commitment of respect for its natural surroundings. Ms. Dukett’s final act of self-awareness, at age 19, is when she begins to confront the anger she’s felt toward her parents throughout her teenage sojourn of independence. The intensity of her struggles and how they led to the formation of her self-worth from age 16-19 will leave you in awe of her tenacity at a relatively young age. You won���t be able to put the book down until you’ve finished reading even the insightful epilogue, which turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the book.
June 28, 2020
This memoir begins in Connecticut in 1971 when Sharon, at age 16, decides to get out of her house filled with rules and unsympathetic parents and run away to California to join the hippie culture. It's the story of the ups and downs of her life until she left her wandering life style and started college.
When she arrives in California she is thrown into an adult world that she isn't prepared for. There are lots of drugs, lots of sex and no stability to her life. She realizes that she has to learn quickly or be left behind. After several years of this lifestyle, she gets involved with the women's movement and realizes that she can make her own decisions instead of some man telling her what to do. Her book is very honest and she admits she made some mistakes but who doesn't make mistakes as they grow up. I enjoyed her honesty and her bravery at breaking so many rules along the way. She was very brave to make the changes that she did at such a young age. I can't relate to much of her story but I appreciate her sharing it with the world.
When she arrives in California she is thrown into an adult world that she isn't prepared for. There are lots of drugs, lots of sex and no stability to her life. She realizes that she has to learn quickly or be left behind. After several years of this lifestyle, she gets involved with the women's movement and realizes that she can make her own decisions instead of some man telling her what to do. Her book is very honest and she admits she made some mistakes but who doesn't make mistakes as they grow up. I enjoyed her honesty and her bravery at breaking so many rules along the way. She was very brave to make the changes that she did at such a young age. I can't relate to much of her story but I appreciate her sharing it with the world.
July 22, 2020
The story begins in Connecticut 1971 when sixteen-year-old Sharon heads to California with her older sister.
Tired of rules, she’s looking for freedom.
I can relate to much of her life growing up. From overcontrolling parents to wearing homemade clothes. I too hated the long, lonely summers and fantasized about a different life.
Sharon wanted a different life than her parents. I too wanted the same!
Both Sharon and I had an Irish setter, too.
Sharon watched her parents control her older sister, who hadn’t been allowed to move from home or drive until she was 21, and had to ask permission to go out on a date at 19. And I, as a child, watched a woman who lived with my family go through the same thing. My family home a mix of children and elderly boarders and much more chaotic than Sharon’s.
But unlike Sharon I was the older sister, the one who yelled and screamed at my parents for more freedom.
I didn’t leave home but stayed and gained my freedom in other ways—or what I thought was freedom at the time.
For as Sharon writes: I had no idea life would be so difficult once I had the freedom to make my own decisions.
A lot of people might want to blame drug use as being the problem. And there is a lot of drug use in Sharon’s life, as was popular at the time, especially in California.
She writes on page 152: Drugs were a diversion from my problems, not the cause. It was life’s pain I couldn’t face, and there wasn’t enough joy to help me get beyond that.
I agree with her: drugs are a way of searching for that happiness we so desperately seek.
And I had a problem with rules and how I was expected to behave.
There are lots of stories about hitch-hiking, and even a period of living in a commune.
I liked a lot of what she summarized in the epilogue. I would’ve liked to know more about what she learned in therapy (this could be a memoir), about her marriage and the failure of her marriage (this could be a memoir).
I liked how she wrote about coming to a point in her life when she needed to let go of her anger at her parents for the ways she felt they had failed her. Regardless of the past she came to realize they weren’t in control anymore. And what happened from now on was her responsibility and if she wanted something to be different only she could change it.
She began to heal through writing
And as a writer of memoir I can relate to years of drafts, writing workshops, conferences, classes and writing groups, etc.
About years keeping quiet and the fear of exposing your life and how it might be perceived.
So, if you’re looking for a memoir about this time period or about the search for a different life, give this one a read.
Tired of rules, she’s looking for freedom.
I can relate to much of her life growing up. From overcontrolling parents to wearing homemade clothes. I too hated the long, lonely summers and fantasized about a different life.
Sharon wanted a different life than her parents. I too wanted the same!
Both Sharon and I had an Irish setter, too.
Sharon watched her parents control her older sister, who hadn’t been allowed to move from home or drive until she was 21, and had to ask permission to go out on a date at 19. And I, as a child, watched a woman who lived with my family go through the same thing. My family home a mix of children and elderly boarders and much more chaotic than Sharon’s.
But unlike Sharon I was the older sister, the one who yelled and screamed at my parents for more freedom.
I didn’t leave home but stayed and gained my freedom in other ways—or what I thought was freedom at the time.
For as Sharon writes: I had no idea life would be so difficult once I had the freedom to make my own decisions.
A lot of people might want to blame drug use as being the problem. And there is a lot of drug use in Sharon’s life, as was popular at the time, especially in California.
She writes on page 152: Drugs were a diversion from my problems, not the cause. It was life’s pain I couldn’t face, and there wasn’t enough joy to help me get beyond that.
I agree with her: drugs are a way of searching for that happiness we so desperately seek.
And I had a problem with rules and how I was expected to behave.
There are lots of stories about hitch-hiking, and even a period of living in a commune.
I liked a lot of what she summarized in the epilogue. I would’ve liked to know more about what she learned in therapy (this could be a memoir), about her marriage and the failure of her marriage (this could be a memoir).
I liked how she wrote about coming to a point in her life when she needed to let go of her anger at her parents for the ways she felt they had failed her. Regardless of the past she came to realize they weren’t in control anymore. And what happened from now on was her responsibility and if she wanted something to be different only she could change it.
She began to heal through writing
And as a writer of memoir I can relate to years of drafts, writing workshops, conferences, classes and writing groups, etc.
About years keeping quiet and the fear of exposing your life and how it might be perceived.
So, if you’re looking for a memoir about this time period or about the search for a different life, give this one a read.
November 18, 2021
If you’ve ever wondered what day-to-day life in the hippie culture was like, Sharon Dukett shares her experiences; a cross between a big adventure and a path to self-discovery.
In 1971, at only sixteen years old, Sharon and her older sister packed up, left their East Coast home, and headed to California. They hook up with men who give them drugs and run out on them, but this is not the freedom Sharon dreamed of; this surely can’t be “free love.”
She finds herself searching and traveling the country with different men. At times she lives within a commune, or backpacking and pitching tents, or accepting the help of strangers.
During this time, the women’s liberation movement is gaining steam, and Sharon realizes that women are degraded and abused even in this progressive counterculture. In fact, she’s experienced it first hand.
Sharon is a great storyteller. I loved how she described baking bread while living at the commune and bathing at the local pond. She certainly wasn’t just some “flower child” with no cares in the world; she took a lot of risks but was bold and adventurous too. Sharon is not shy about recounting the drugs and sex, but she made plenty of friends along the way, and found her voice.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours @sharon.dukett and @orangeskyaudio for an invite to the tour and a gifted audiobook.
In 1971, at only sixteen years old, Sharon and her older sister packed up, left their East Coast home, and headed to California. They hook up with men who give them drugs and run out on them, but this is not the freedom Sharon dreamed of; this surely can’t be “free love.”
She finds herself searching and traveling the country with different men. At times she lives within a commune, or backpacking and pitching tents, or accepting the help of strangers.
During this time, the women’s liberation movement is gaining steam, and Sharon realizes that women are degraded and abused even in this progressive counterculture. In fact, she’s experienced it first hand.
Sharon is a great storyteller. I loved how she described baking bread while living at the commune and bathing at the local pond. She certainly wasn’t just some “flower child” with no cares in the world; she took a lot of risks but was bold and adventurous too. Sharon is not shy about recounting the drugs and sex, but she made plenty of friends along the way, and found her voice.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours @sharon.dukett and @orangeskyaudio for an invite to the tour and a gifted audiobook.
August 31, 2020
1971 - Free love reigns and hippies are the center of the counterculture movement. Sixteen year old Sharon Dukett had enough of her parents and the rules and expectations laid out for her (get married and start a family) so she and her older sister move to California and thus begin some of the most formative coming of age experiences for Sharon. Drugs, new lovers, responsibilities (or lack thereof), protests, spiritualism, and travel. This memoir really encompasses what it was like to be a free spirit during the early seventies: communes, acid, feminism, hitchhiking, and so many elements are the norm. It's fascinating to grow up through her eyes as she experiences things that most of us will only ever read about. The level of memory it takes to recall all these stories (I assume the conversations are generalized - no one's memories are that good) is impressive. This memoir spans about two years and kind of has an abrupt ending. It was very enlightening - what a time to be alive!
July 29, 2020
Written with radical candor and the power of hindsight, the pages of NO RULES are explosive and colorful. Between the covers of this book, author Sharon Dukett shares a brutally honest look at real-life survival as a runaway teen and the roles that sex and drugs played in discovering herself—and coming into her own—during the counter-culture of the 1970s. I highly recommend this five-star read.
May 1, 2020
Mary Meggie
Leave home, abandon all rules and become your own boss, explore boundaries, seek adventure, it’s a fantasy shared by most adolescents at one time or another....What Ms. Dukett did most of us merely dared to dream of, and she shares her journey in her memoir No Rules. Tired of being told what to do and exactly how to do it, when to come home, who to hang out with--rules, rules everywhere, so at the age of 15, that’s exactly what she and her sister planned to do: They would pack up and leave home to see what the world holds for them. They would leave their deadly-quiet, small town and leave all those rules behind on the east coast to pursue their California dream. With just enough money for three month’s rent, Sharon, a curious, willful, spirited teen, and her sister drove across country in an old Dodge Cornet they had purchased for $50. Living a quintessential hippie life until that became boring, her sister returned home, and Sharon moved on. She soon realized her newly-found independence in the peace-love-dove lifestyle of a commune to be well-suited for her nonjudgmental personality. As her social conscience is piqued, she becomes absorbed in the grass root awakening of the Feminist Movement that was just taking hold in the early ‘70s. With unwavering confidence and determination, Miss Dukett takes us with her through her journey. Ms. Dukett lived the life that so many of us wish we could have lived, but did not have the nerve to take that first step.
Leave home, abandon all rules and become your own boss, explore boundaries, seek adventure, it’s a fantasy shared by most adolescents at one time or another....What Ms. Dukett did most of us merely dared to dream of, and she shares her journey in her memoir No Rules. Tired of being told what to do and exactly how to do it, when to come home, who to hang out with--rules, rules everywhere, so at the age of 15, that’s exactly what she and her sister planned to do: They would pack up and leave home to see what the world holds for them. They would leave their deadly-quiet, small town and leave all those rules behind on the east coast to pursue their California dream. With just enough money for three month’s rent, Sharon, a curious, willful, spirited teen, and her sister drove across country in an old Dodge Cornet they had purchased for $50. Living a quintessential hippie life until that became boring, her sister returned home, and Sharon moved on. She soon realized her newly-found independence in the peace-love-dove lifestyle of a commune to be well-suited for her nonjudgmental personality. As her social conscience is piqued, she becomes absorbed in the grass root awakening of the Feminist Movement that was just taking hold in the early ‘70s. With unwavering confidence and determination, Miss Dukett takes us with her through her journey. Ms. Dukett lived the life that so many of us wish we could have lived, but did not have the nerve to take that first step.
July 18, 2020
Right away, I was drawn to this memoir for the insight it would give me into a young woman’s life in the early 1970’s. The book follows Sharon after she runs away from home to pursue a “dream life,” out in California. Readers get a very real and honest look at what that looks like, as Sharon writes about hitch hiking, living on a commune, the men she encounters, and all of the things that come along with the hippy movement of the times. -
I often found myself forgetting this was a memoir. The things she went through are sometimes so hard to imagine facing at such a young age and the world she paints feels like it’s straight out of a fictional 70’s film. However, knowing this was her real life experience makes this book all the more enjoyable. I was left admiring her strength, bravery, and spirit for adventure time and time again and found it so interesting to read about what she experienced as a woman in this time. -
There are several moments that were difficult to read, in terms of what she endured at the hands of men (so I’d note a trigger warning for sexual assault and drug use), but I greatly admired the openness and vulnerability of her story.
I often found myself forgetting this was a memoir. The things she went through are sometimes so hard to imagine facing at such a young age and the world she paints feels like it’s straight out of a fictional 70’s film. However, knowing this was her real life experience makes this book all the more enjoyable. I was left admiring her strength, bravery, and spirit for adventure time and time again and found it so interesting to read about what she experienced as a woman in this time. -
There are several moments that were difficult to read, in terms of what she endured at the hands of men (so I’d note a trigger warning for sexual assault and drug use), but I greatly admired the openness and vulnerability of her story.
July 23, 2020
A raw, heartfelt, and fascinating memoir.
This is the true story of Sharon Dukett leaving home at 16 years old during the 1970s and moving to California, then across the US during the counter-culture revolution. And ultimately of her awakening to feminism at a time when many women were finding her own strength and purpose in a male-dominated society.
A story of a strong woman, carving her way in a world where sex and drugs are everywhere, and sexism just as prevalent.
Written with a raw and disarming honesty. If you’re looking for insights into real life and the counter culture revolution it’s thoroughly recommended.
This is the true story of Sharon Dukett leaving home at 16 years old during the 1970s and moving to California, then across the US during the counter-culture revolution. And ultimately of her awakening to feminism at a time when many women were finding her own strength and purpose in a male-dominated society.
A story of a strong woman, carving her way in a world where sex and drugs are everywhere, and sexism just as prevalent.
Written with a raw and disarming honesty. If you’re looking for insights into real life and the counter culture revolution it’s thoroughly recommended.
July 4, 2023
Was not impressed by this book. I have several girlfriends who took the same route during the same era. Things weren't as enlightening or thrilling for them, and I am completely thankful I didn't choose to go that way. Sometimes safe and boring is best.
May 29, 2023
Today I finished a really wonderful memoir, "No Rules," written by Sharon Dukett. I mostly read fiction, but I do love a good memoir now and then, and this one did NOT disappoint. It may not do much for everyone, but I figured out that the author is only a year younger than I am, making us from the same generation, at the peak of the Baby Boom generation. Her memoir is set in the early 1970's, when she should have been in high school, and then heading to college, but at 15 she ran away with her sister and a boy to the land of communes, free love, and non-stop drug use, when people dropped out and dropped acid. That was never my scene. While Sharon was turning her back on her conservative upbringing and her parents, I was studying hard and looking forward to going to college. She, too, wanted to go to college, but her old fashioned mother (SO different than my own) told her she did not need to go, that she should take a class to become a secretary instead. Sharon did not find that appealing, so before her 16th birthday, she layered as many clothes as possible onto her body, and headed to school, where she found a ride to where her sister was staying with Eddie, who would drive them all to California.
Once in California, Sharon wandered from one home to another, shacking up with different young men, sharing their drugs, sometimes being hurt by them (emotionally and one time abusively) but she had a lot of spunk and just kept going. I found her to be so naive, as most 15 year old girls are and should be, but she was taking on adult behaviors. It was easy to lie about one's age back then, so she claimed to be 18. Along the way she and her sister met quite a lot of people, but at some point separated from one another and the author has written on her personal online accounts that she will not discuss her sister's private life.
There were things I loved about the book, such as all the references to the music of that time. There is something about the songs we hear as teenagers that seem to define our lives long after we have aged. I also related to Sharon's awareness of the politics of that time, the anti-war movement, the draft, women's rights, etc. What I found very interesting was that, in the end, may of the people who claimed to be non-conformists, ended up returning to their home towns and attending universities, some being the most prestigious ones in the country. They had their fun and a taste of hippie culture, but in the end, wanted nice things and a home, not a tent, a yurt. or to sleep in someone's dirty apartment on the floor.
Sharon and a group of people with whom she lived were vegetarian and baked their own bread. Because they lived in groups, there had to be a good quantity of bread, and there were no bread machines back then.
The music of the 1970's, especially the early years tells a story, even now, of wha life was like at that time. The world was changing. Some tried to make it a better place, and some wanted to go off the grid. I cannot imagine ever doing what Sharon did, let alone as a 15 year old. If you were a teenager in the early 1960's, I think you will enjoy all the cultural references. If you are young now, you may want to catch a glimpse into a turbulent era, an era that was well meaning, to choose love, not war, and to find one's inner self.
The memoir is very well written and grabbed me fro the start. I would love to know what the author did when she decided to go back to main stream society. I know she married and raised 3 boys, but no information was given on her adult life. She really was still a child when she took off and lived as a nomad. The book might best be read listening to the superb music of that era, which I hear, and am transported back to my own coming of age. 5 star book!
Once in California, Sharon wandered from one home to another, shacking up with different young men, sharing their drugs, sometimes being hurt by them (emotionally and one time abusively) but she had a lot of spunk and just kept going. I found her to be so naive, as most 15 year old girls are and should be, but she was taking on adult behaviors. It was easy to lie about one's age back then, so she claimed to be 18. Along the way she and her sister met quite a lot of people, but at some point separated from one another and the author has written on her personal online accounts that she will not discuss her sister's private life.
There were things I loved about the book, such as all the references to the music of that time. There is something about the songs we hear as teenagers that seem to define our lives long after we have aged. I also related to Sharon's awareness of the politics of that time, the anti-war movement, the draft, women's rights, etc. What I found very interesting was that, in the end, may of the people who claimed to be non-conformists, ended up returning to their home towns and attending universities, some being the most prestigious ones in the country. They had their fun and a taste of hippie culture, but in the end, wanted nice things and a home, not a tent, a yurt. or to sleep in someone's dirty apartment on the floor.
Sharon and a group of people with whom she lived were vegetarian and baked their own bread. Because they lived in groups, there had to be a good quantity of bread, and there were no bread machines back then.
The music of the 1970's, especially the early years tells a story, even now, of wha life was like at that time. The world was changing. Some tried to make it a better place, and some wanted to go off the grid. I cannot imagine ever doing what Sharon did, let alone as a 15 year old. If you were a teenager in the early 1960's, I think you will enjoy all the cultural references. If you are young now, you may want to catch a glimpse into a turbulent era, an era that was well meaning, to choose love, not war, and to find one's inner self.
The memoir is very well written and grabbed me fro the start. I would love to know what the author did when she decided to go back to main stream society. I know she married and raised 3 boys, but no information was given on her adult life. She really was still a child when she took off and lived as a nomad. The book might best be read listening to the superb music of that era, which I hear, and am transported back to my own coming of age. 5 star book!
June 18, 2020
This book tells the story of a teenage girl growing up in the late 60's and early 70's. Sharon runs away from home at age 15 to meet up with her older sister who is 21, and they head out for California. They live risky lives, delving into the world of drugs, hitchhiking, meeting people and living a hippie lifestyle. I could relate to these sisters because I was born in the same era and I enjoyed reading about their lives, and I felt worried for them. Sharon had wanted to go to college but her parents didn't see the need, they were traditional as far as husband and wives go, thinking she should just get married and have a family or become a secretary. But they were both like so many young folks back then, fascinated by hippie life, freedom, wanting to travel and not be ruled by their parents. I was definitely pulled right into the story and I enjoyed it. I received a copy from a Goodreads giveaway and I appreciate the chance to read and review this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good memoir.
July 10, 2020
Thank you to #booktrib, She Writes Press and Tina Meyers "Loves To Read" for this book.
Quite a wild ride with this book. I'd never be able to leave my family or my house at 16 and travel around the country hitchhiking, finding employment (when she could), shacking up with strangers/men and living on a commune, and anywhere else she could find with anyone she could to make ends meet when she was ages 16-18. I wasn't mature enough but obviously she did it and seemed to enjoy it for the most part. Her parents weren't happy that she left home without their knowledge but she was living with her sister Anne for a while who was 21 at the time. I was dizzy with all the places she was going to and ended up for short periods of time.
Thank you Sharon Dukett for your honest memoir, your journey, and for the interesting trip through the 1970s and the hippie era. I grew up in the 1970s but Sharon is older than me.
Quite a wild ride with this book. I'd never be able to leave my family or my house at 16 and travel around the country hitchhiking, finding employment (when she could), shacking up with strangers/men and living on a commune, and anywhere else she could find with anyone she could to make ends meet when she was ages 16-18. I wasn't mature enough but obviously she did it and seemed to enjoy it for the most part. Her parents weren't happy that she left home without their knowledge but she was living with her sister Anne for a while who was 21 at the time. I was dizzy with all the places she was going to and ended up for short periods of time.
Thank you Sharon Dukett for your honest memoir, your journey, and for the interesting trip through the 1970s and the hippie era. I grew up in the 1970s but Sharon is older than me.
June 25, 2020
"For most of us, the line between the destinations in our lives is seldom a straight one.".
This is a tough one to review because how do you review someone's life story? I'll do my best though. I don't generally like memoirs but I really enjoyed this one. It was a taste of a different kind of life than we're all used to. It's raw and emotional and really tugs on your heartstrings.
Sharon left home at 16 to get away from her extremely Catholic parents and the nonlife they had planned for her. She was an excellent student and planned on going to college until her parents told her that she's a girl so she doesn't need college and they weren't paying for it. She could find a husband and be fine without college.
She hit the road with her older sister and traveled around the country. She tried different drugs and different men. She had good times and bad times. A ton of eye opening moments. And I enjoyed taking the journey with her.
Thank you for sharing your story Sharon ❤
Trigger warnings: drugs & rape. Not vivid, but still there.
This is a tough one to review because how do you review someone's life story? I'll do my best though. I don't generally like memoirs but I really enjoyed this one. It was a taste of a different kind of life than we're all used to. It's raw and emotional and really tugs on your heartstrings.
Sharon left home at 16 to get away from her extremely Catholic parents and the nonlife they had planned for her. She was an excellent student and planned on going to college until her parents told her that she's a girl so she doesn't need college and they weren't paying for it. She could find a husband and be fine without college.
She hit the road with her older sister and traveled around the country. She tried different drugs and different men. She had good times and bad times. A ton of eye opening moments. And I enjoyed taking the journey with her.
Thank you for sharing your story Sharon ❤
Trigger warnings: drugs & rape. Not vivid, but still there.
July 17, 2020
No Rules by Sharon Dukett is an incredible memoir. The setting is in Connecticut (where I grew up ) and is set in the early 1970's . There are alternating timelines between the 70's and to the future.
Sharon explores the Hippie lifestyle .
At times, I forgot I was reading a memoir and this was a testament to the author's excellent writing.
It was really interesting reading not only Sharon's experience but also the time period she wrote about.
I recommend this poignant memoir.
Sharon explores the Hippie lifestyle .
At times, I forgot I was reading a memoir and this was a testament to the author's excellent writing.
It was really interesting reading not only Sharon's experience but also the time period she wrote about.
I recommend this poignant memoir.
December 15, 2021
In the early 1970’s, Sharon Dukett left her strict, Catholic home at 16 with her sister. She preferred the carefree, nomadic life over the rigid sheltered home she grew up in.
Hers was a choice to eschew the typical female role of the time and instead grow into her feminist ideals and hippie lifestyle.
Her story is so far from anything I have experienced, which is what I love about memoir - the opportunity to walk in another’s shoes. To experience a new set of life circumstances. To build empathy for those who are different from me.
Thank you to Sharon for sharing your story with others, and in particular for gifting me with a copy of your audiobook!
Hers was a choice to eschew the typical female role of the time and instead grow into her feminist ideals and hippie lifestyle.
Her story is so far from anything I have experienced, which is what I love about memoir - the opportunity to walk in another’s shoes. To experience a new set of life circumstances. To build empathy for those who are different from me.
Thank you to Sharon for sharing your story with others, and in particular for gifting me with a copy of your audiobook!
May 31, 2024
I really enjoyed the book. It is a well-written memoir and I felt pulled into her experiences as if I was there. It was definitely a wild ride, literally, since she did so much hitchhiking across the US and Canada, and then rode a bike with backpacks and camping gear across the miles to other destinations. It was too much crazy living for me to want, and I was a young teen in those years too. Nevertheless it was fun to share her experiences through her writing.
February 21, 2023
I was there.
I was there and this is really how it was… wisdom growing from plunging into experiences that were enticing, terrifying, and often not successful except looking back and seeing them in the context of “then and now”. Congratulations Sharon. Great job!
I was there and this is really how it was… wisdom growing from plunging into experiences that were enticing, terrifying, and often not successful except looking back and seeing them in the context of “then and now”. Congratulations Sharon. Great job!
October 15, 2021
I basically binge listened to the memoir (I listened through a good portion of one work day and then finished up while I was cleaning and exercising that evening). When the book finished I was working out at the gym, and I really wasn’t ready for it to be over.
The narration is fantastic and the life that Sharon led in the early 1970s when she was a teenager is honesty more interesting than a fiction read.
Sharon was super sheltered in her Connecticut home (when Sharon was in 4th grade her mom wouldn’t even let her hang out at her neighbor’s house and swim in their pool).
So Sharon at 15 years old sets out with her 21 year old sister and goes to California. That time is full of sex, drugs, and music and Sharon shares these experiences with us in matter of fact manner .
It gets even more interesting as Sharon travels other places like Chicago, Canada, Provincetown. She even lived in a commune!
She traveled by hitchhiking, motorcycle, and a 10 speed bike.
She meets a ton of people and has some really incredible experiences in her search of self-actualization.
I loved her epilogue when she tells how long it took her to write this memoir and the fact that this is a tribute to her own personal growth and a remembrance to all those folks she met along her journey.
I’m not sure when was the last time or if I have ever listened to a memoir but if all memoirs are this engaging, then I’ll be listening to many more.
The narration is fantastic and the life that Sharon led in the early 1970s when she was a teenager is honesty more interesting than a fiction read.
Sharon was super sheltered in her Connecticut home (when Sharon was in 4th grade her mom wouldn’t even let her hang out at her neighbor’s house and swim in their pool).
So Sharon at 15 years old sets out with her 21 year old sister and goes to California. That time is full of sex, drugs, and music and Sharon shares these experiences with us in matter of fact manner .
It gets even more interesting as Sharon travels other places like Chicago, Canada, Provincetown. She even lived in a commune!
She traveled by hitchhiking, motorcycle, and a 10 speed bike.
She meets a ton of people and has some really incredible experiences in her search of self-actualization.
I loved her epilogue when she tells how long it took her to write this memoir and the fact that this is a tribute to her own personal growth and a remembrance to all those folks she met along her journey.
I’m not sure when was the last time or if I have ever listened to a memoir but if all memoirs are this engaging, then I’ll be listening to many more.
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