{"product_id":"qtopia-a-memoir-of-love-land-and-liberation-paperback-softback-9780299357047","title":"Qtopia; A Memoir of Love, Land, and Liberation (Paperback \/ softback) 9780299357047","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eQtopia\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Memoir of Love, Land, and Liberation\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJuda Bennett (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780299357047\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 26 May 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e200 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 2.3 cm, 0.255 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The road to peace and love is paved with poise and self-discovery in Juda Bennett's coming-of-New-Age memoir. . . . The prose is witty and unflinching in covering Bennett's myriad travels. . . . \u003ci\u003eQtopia\u003c\/i\u003e is a revealing coming-of-age memoir about a man's quest to find his chosen family.\"\u003c\/p\u003e(Foreword Reviews)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As much about the future as the past, this memoir is a battle cry disguised as a love letter to anyone in search of queer utopia.” - Ned Asta, illustrator of \u003ci\u003eThe Faggots \u0026amp; Their Friends Between Revolutions\u003c\/i\u003e, and former Lavender Hill resident\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The 1960s–70s era was a time of social upheaval and transformation in the US and beyond. Bennett’s memoir, focusing on his ventures into communal living and coming out as gay, among other things, provides a personal and intimate exploration of those tumultuous times.” - Timothy Miller, author of \u003ci\u003eThe 60s Communes: Hippies and Beyond\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Bennett's beautiful memoir is as much about a fascinating time and place as it is about one charming, idealistic, fragile, brave young queer soul trying to find a chosen family—and himself. I'd follow this beguiling narrator anywhere!\" - Elizabeth Graver, author of \u003ci\u003eKantika\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An achingly tender memoir that is, at its heart, the story of how many gay men must leave behind loved ones in search of their chosen family. Bennett carefully deconstructs memoir as a form and then constructs a compelling narrative that is uniquely his own.”- Steve Majors, author of \u003ci\u003eMan Made: Searching for Dads, Daddies, Father Figures, and Fatherhood\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Takes us back to an era when ragtag groups of queer folks had the courage to be their true selves—together. With buoyant earnestness and self-deprecating charm, Bennett vividly retraces his path from virginal teenage hitchhiker to long-haired communard to slowed-down but still fabulous elder. A story about finding family in the least expected places and a testament to the power of feeling needed, Bennett’s tale reminds us, in our current hopelessness, that the heart of any true revolution is optimism. \u003ci\u003eQtopia \u003c\/i\u003eis a tonic for our times.” - Michael Lowenthal, author of \u003ci\u003ePlace Envy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Bennett’s triumph here comes from placing his past in the service of the now: \u003ci\u003eQtopia \u003c\/i\u003einforms\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand invigorates current interests in how we live with intention and protect LGBTQ  rights and families. His captivating story offers both inspiration and cautionary wisdom.” - Patrick Davis, National Book Critics Circle lifetime voting member\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The sweet, rollicking charm of Bennett's commune memoir is \u003ci\u003eCandide \u003c\/i\u003ein reverse—a suburban gay boy, seemingly destined for the military, instead seeks out Eden and finds new family, first love, and a (forested) room of his own. \u003ci\u003eQtopia \u003c\/i\u003eprovides a touching and granular glimpse into the lived experience of dropping out, showing up, sharing everything, and sticking it out—even when the best of intentions start to unravel. Bennett went looking for a way of life and discovered, in this book, a way to see.\" - Austin Bunn, director of \u003ci\u003eLavender Hill: A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Vivid and sharply crafted. Bennett's journey is both an on-the-road adventure and a coming out story. With unusual honesty and humor, \u003ci\u003eQtopia \u003c\/i\u003enewly illuminates the converging promises of the hippie movement and gay liberation, and their challenges too.\" - Stephen Vider, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Queerness of Home: Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Domesticity After World War II\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIn the 1970s, while communes bloomed like wildflowers across the land, most had no room for queer members. The so-called counterculture still clung to heterosexual norms, even as it preached freedom from traditional gender roles and the nuclear family. Juda Bennett’s engrossing memoir follows his escape from suburbia into the back-to-the-land movement—and chronicles the efforts it took for him to “drop back in” to mainstream society and the ways in which he and his compatriots continued to honor their communal vision. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e After enduring the hollow promises of “progressive” communes, Bennett finally found what he didn’t know he was looking for at Lavender Hill, a rural queer commune of visionaries carving out a life beyond heteronormativity, beyond capitalism, beyond shame. They didn’t just survive; they built something messy, luminous, and defiantly alive. And when the commune began to unravel, they didn’t vanish. They evolved. \u003ci\u003eQtopia\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of chosen family and radical transformation. It is a reminder that queer utopia isn’t behind us—it’s still out there on the horizon, singing its song of joy, defiance, and fabulousness.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface \u003cbr\u003e Part One: Before I Could Dream of Lavender Hill \u003cbr\u003e \tOn Hippies and Boot Camp  \u003cbr\u003e \tIn Walks the Mummy  \u003cbr\u003e \tLeaving Home  \u003cbr\u003e \tWalking to the Mountain  \u003cbr\u003e \tToo Much Flesh in the Afternoon Sun  \u003cbr\u003e \tCulture Shock  \u003cbr\u003e \tBack in the Diamond State  \u003cbr\u003e \tOne Thousand Communes  \u003cbr\u003e \tLiving in a Coal Bin  \u003cbr\u003e \tEverything Was an Experiment, Even Sexuality  \u003cbr\u003e \tBefore Leaving, the Rats Came  \u003cbr\u003e \tWhat It’s Like to Die  \u003cbr\u003e \tRFD, or How a Magazine Can Save Your Life  \u003cbr\u003e \tHow Freaky Can You Get?  Part Two: Lavender Hill \u003cbr\u003e \tThe Road to Utopia  \u003cbr\u003e \tI Need to Believe in This Place  \u003cbr\u003e \tA House Out of a Fairy Tale  \u003cbr\u003e \tFirst Love  \u003cbr\u003e \tIn Search of Michael  \u003cbr\u003e \tToo Much Love  \u003cbr\u003e \tWhat Is Home to Queer People?  \u003cbr\u003e \tPilgrimage to San Francisco  \u003cbr\u003e \tHow I Got My Hippie Name  \u003cbr\u003e \tLocating Utopia on a Map  \u003cbr\u003e \tJerry Becomes Ruby, and Ruby Becomes Green Man  \u003cbr\u003e \tHouse on Wheels  \u003cbr\u003e \tToo Poor Not to Be Educated  \u003cbr\u003e \tFires Everywhere  \u003cbr\u003e \tHow Many People Make a Commune  \u003cbr\u003e \tIn Walks Allen Ginsberg  \u003cbr\u003e \tInsert Myth Here  \u003cbr\u003e \tHow to Build Family with Only Two People  \u003cbr\u003e \tEmpty and Naked  \u003cbr\u003e \tInterlude of the House That Was Not a House  Part Three: Where Are They Now? \u003cbr\u003e \tTalking to Ghosts  \u003cbr\u003e \tA Virtual Gathering  \u003cbr\u003e \tJeff, the Preservationist \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Wisconsin Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52530917048600,"sku":"9780299357047","price":13.86,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/qtopia-a-memoir-of-love-land-and-liberation-paperback-softback-9780299357047","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}