Godspeed: Hitchhiking Home

by Laurel Lee

Charts the author's journey from San Francisco's Haight Ashbury in the 1960's to an Alaskan homestead and the discovery of Christ as a central force in her quest for enlightenment

251 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Posadafan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish goodreads had a better rating system. As it is, I give this a 3.85 or so). It is a good read, and a compelling one; I found myself grabbing the book as often as I could. This year-long journal of a fascinating and adventurous time in author Laurel Lee's life is written in an easy-read style, sometimes eloquently. The pacing is good and the descriptions put you right there walking with her.

The reason I didn't give it more stars is that there is a distance...almost as though she's writing in the 3rd person. You often don't really know what is motivating her. Did she truly love her husband when she married him? And was she okay with a wedding without any friends present? Why is she so content with letting her husband run the show, dole out dimes for her, etc.? And why does she seem to have little respect for her parents? I really wish she'd been more illuminating. When she and her husband fall into Christianity, it's hard to understand what motivated the change.

And my gosh, this was a tumultuous and incredible time in history...MLKing, Vietnam, etc., yet the war is given a brief paragraph, not even by name, and civil rights, etc. is not even in this couple's radar. The book, with the author's childlike illustrations throughout, makes her seem, well, naive. I guess she was just tuned out, with their vagabond existence.

That said, I enjoyed the book enough to Google her, and was saddened to learn that she'd passed away at only 58.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the 80's, I read Laurel Lee's three books about her journey through motherhood, a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma, abandonment by her husband, poverty and triumph through Christ. They were so delightful in spite of some of the subject matter, due chiefly to Laurel's unique writing style and the notes of humor and courage dancing throughout what could have been some very depressing years. When I discovered this "prequel" to those years, I grabbed it. This book details the hitchhiking adventures of Laurel & her husband Richard in the late sixties, including heading to Alaska to file a claim for land of their own. The same humor and courage are present in Godspeed as well as the explanation of how she and Richard metamorphosed from weed-smoking hippies to new found Christianity and hope in Jesus. NOW I have discovered there is one more book by Laurel Lee called Tapestry and I ordered it yesterday.