Home Is Where We Start: Growing Up in the Fallout of the Utopian Dream

Susanna Crossman's memoir explores her childhood in an utopian commune and her adult examination of the sacrifices made in pursuit of freedom. She revisits her past and examines the society she grew up in, asking what happens to children raised as the product of social experiments and how growing up estranged from the outside world shapes her as a parent today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2024
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Susanna Crossman's memoir recounts her childhood spent in an utopian commune in the turbulent late seventies. She and her family moved from a suburban terrace to a crumbling mansion in the English countryside, joining over fifty other residents from around the world. They shared a passion for ecology, Marxism, and radical feminism, driven by utopian dreams of remaking the world. For fifteen years, they lived in this community, adopting new names and liberating themselves from domestic roles. The Kids ran free, discussing nuclear war and learning not to expect wiped noses or regular bedtimes. They made a home in a house with no locks or keys, never knowing when they opened doors whether they'd find violent political debates or couples writhing under sheets. Decades later, Crossman revisits her past, turning to leading thinkers in philosophy, sociology, and anthropology to examine the society she grew up in and the many meanings of family and home. In this luminous memoir, she asks what happens to children who are raised as the product of social experiments and explores how growing up estranged from the outside world shapes her as a parent today.

Weight: 500g
Dimension: 222 x 145 x 36 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241650905