Navigating the Zeitgeist: A Story of the Cold War, the New Left, Irish Republicanism, and International Communism

A well-lived political and philosophical life, navigated by Helena Sheehan from her Irish-Catholic roots to becoming an atheist, feminist, and Marxist during the Vietnam War, black power, and women's liberation era. Her narrative captures the global sweep of second-wave feminism, anti-war activism, national liberation movements, and international communism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 31 January 2019
Publisher: Monthly Review Press,U.S.

Born into a good, Irish-Catholic family in the thick of the McCarthy era, Helena Sheehan's journey from her 1940s and 1950s beginnings to the turbulent 1960s was a remarkable one. As she entered a convent, she seemed destined for a life of faith and tradition. However, as she grew older, the Vietnam War, black power, and women's liberation rocked her bedrock assumptions and prompted a volley of life-upending questions. These questions were shared by millions of young people of her generation, but for Helena Sheehan, the increasingly radicalized answers deepened through the following decades.

Beginning by overturning such certainties as America-is-the-worlds-greatest-country and the Church-is-infallible, Sheehan went on to embrace existentialism, philosophical pragmatism, the new left, and eventually Marxism. Migrating from the United States to Ireland, she became involved with Irish republicanism and international communism in the 1970s and 1980s. Sheehans narrative vividly captures the global sweep and contradictions of second-wave feminism, anti-war activism, national liberation movements, and international communism in Eastern and Western Europe – as well as the quieter intellectual ferment of individuals living through these times.

Navigating the Zeitgeist is an eloquently articulated voyage from faith to enlightenment to historical materialism that informs as well as entertains. This is the story of a well-lived political and philosophical life, told by a woman who continues to interrogate her times. Helena Sheehan's journey is a testament to the power of intellectual inquiry and the ability of individuals to challenge their assumptions and embrace new ideas. It is a reminder that our beliefs and values are constantly evolving, and that it is essential to remain open to new perspectives and ideas in order to grow and evolve as individuals and as a society.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 224 x 147 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781583677285