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Topanga Canyon
Topanga Canyon by Barbara Bryan follows the story of Matt, a fourteen-year-old boy who is forced to live with his grandfather at his horse ranch. He is assigned the job of mucking the horse stalls and helping Esmeralda with her horse. Unfamiliar with ranch life, he eventually falls in love with Esmeralda’s cooking and bonds with Ariel. Silas, whose ranch is failing to keep up with the expenses, rents his barn to Sinclair. Matt has a way with horses and calms them down, which leads to Sinclair employing him as his ranch assistant. It is there that Matt discovers the horrible method Sinclair uses to train horses. Finally adjusting to his new life, Matt must decide between his ranch’s future and doing something for the horses.
This coming-of-age story starts with an air of mystery and intrigue as to the whereabouts of Matt and slowly unfolds the story, building the same aura of surprise towards the end. I liked the suspense right from the start and where the story was leading. I know nothing about horses, so the element of surprise was prevalent throughout the book.
The descriptive writing style is simple and enjoyable. Barbara is a horse enthusiast, so the entire horse-related read was extra special. It made me fall in love with horses again and provided information about their breeds and behavior. The characters are diverse in their differences, and I enjoyed reading about Matt. What I love most is the fusion of native American culture in this book, which made the whole reading experience fabulous. Whether it is calming down Black Water or having his first sweat, Matt is a typical protagonist but a great deal more realistic with his awkwardness, silliness, and occasional blush.
Topanga Canyon: Fire Season by Barbara Bryan is a gripping coming-of-age novel that teens and young adults will be able to relate to. The story of finding where you belong and struggling to do what is right are themes that this age group often encounters. I recommend this book to young adults, horse lovers, or anyone looking to enjoy a good read about horses.
Pages: 338 | ISBN: 1639887288
Free Love and the Sexual Revolution: Finding Yourself by Removing Sexual Boundaries
I feel liberated just reading this book! I was totally caught by surprise by how much I loved this book. Any preconceived notions I had about this type of living situation were quickly dispelled by this beautifully written memoir about one woman’s life as the owner of a free love nudist community in California. She walks the reader through her early life, youth, and young adulthood and how this former top insurance salesperson and her aerospace engineer husband ended up running this alternative commune.
This community is located in Topanga Canyon, CA and is not hard to find on the internet and other sources like books, TV and even movies. She describes the community and property beautifully as being “nestled like a gentle Buddha in the wooded tangle of Topanga Canyon” and it made me instantly want to go there. The way she describes life with this free love family both answered questions and created more curiosity in me. The star struck silly girl in me wants to know all the celebrities who went there, as the author mentions.
She tells amazing, sexy, erotic, and loving stories from her time at Sandstone, but she also shares some of the conflicts that inevitably arise in this type of environment. I was particularly interested by the chapters about the making of a film at the site. I am definitely going to have to hunt that movie down to watch after reading this book.
I love that she included essays by many of the former family members who shared their experiences at Sandstone. It seems like so many people felt transformed by their ability to be so open and free among this community of free thinkers and people who did not want to be weighed down by jealousy or judgment. I love that they promoted their lifestyle and had workshops and publications. These were people who were not just flippantly promiscuous or polyamorous. They lived this lifestyle with intention and the desire to live in a conscious way outside of what was forced on them by society.
The author shares openly about her life story which is somewhat sad in her early years, but she maintains such a positive and mindful attitude that it is inspiring to read. I am so impressed by how she ran with who she is and what she believed in. I find this awe inspiring and this book got me thinking about the things about which I am passionate. She also shares so much about her time running a cat rescue and you can really experience her love for these animals in her loving descriptions about these creatures.
This was not a smutty or perverse book, as some might assume, far from it. This work of non-fiction about the Sandstone Retreat paints this community with a beautiful brush. It was not some swinger club or sex club but a group of like-minded individuals who came together and chose to live in pure openness and honesty. This magically led to an amazing experience for so many people and never morphed into anything ugly or tragic. Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Pages: 202 | ISBN: 9781508543558
LITERARY TITAN 