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msbookmarked's review against another edition
5.0
Want a crash course on the history of SF? This book is the one to pick up.
It was clear that a lot of work, both personal and historical, was put into this book. Through her parents' unique past, Volz gave a detailed historical account that's almost textbook-like but presented with a more humane lens. Names mentioned were no longer just a figure head but felt more real through their connections with Volz's parents. More importantly, the book showed how interwoven all the movements were, an accurate reflection of the overlapping issues in social justice. I also appreciate how Volz made an effort to highlight the difference in the treatment of activists and victims that were from marginalized and racialized communities.
It was also a privilege to glimpse into a uniquely different family dynamic. I loved how much of a superwoman Volz portrayed her mother to be, but I'm equally impressed at how she acknowledged the struggles of sexuality and mental health of her dad. While there were moments of vulnerability from Volz on how their unique ways affected her childhood, I loved that ultimately she wrote about it with little resentment and so much love. Her writing was also very appealing, that no matter how non-religious or non-spiritual that you think you are, you can temporary suspend your own beliefs and be drawn into their world of I Ching, tarot cards and all the other "hippie magic".
I'm glad that I picked this book after visiting SF. It was easier to visualize the scenes and made me appreciate the city even more. To this day, when healthcare or social issues are still made political, the book serves as a reminder that at the heart of it are human lives at stake and to be careful what to champion for.
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It was clear that a lot of work, both personal and historical, was put into this book. Through her parents' unique past, Volz gave a detailed historical account that's almost textbook-like but presented with a more humane lens. Names mentioned were no longer just a figure head but felt more real through their connections with Volz's parents. More importantly, the book showed how interwoven all the movements were, an accurate reflection of the overlapping issues in social justice. I also appreciate how Volz made an effort to highlight the difference in the treatment of activists and victims that were from marginalized and racialized communities.
It was also a privilege to glimpse into a uniquely different family dynamic. I loved how much of a superwoman Volz portrayed her mother to be, but I'm equally impressed at how she acknowledged the struggles of sexuality and mental health of her dad. While there were moments of vulnerability from Volz on how their unique ways affected her childhood, I loved that ultimately she wrote about it with little resentment and so much love. Her writing was also very appealing, that no matter how non-religious or non-spiritual that you think you are, you can temporary suspend your own beliefs and be drawn into their world of I Ching, tarot cards and all the other "hippie magic".
I'm glad that I picked this book after visiting SF. It was easier to visualize the scenes and made me appreciate the city even more. To this day, when healthcare or social issues are still made political, the book serves as a reminder that at the heart of it are human lives at stake and to be careful what to champion for.
a3bowles's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This book is so much more than the story of a weed dealer. The history of drug criminalization and prohibition, the AIDS epidemic, drug reform, San Francisco and its gentrification, as well as Jonestown and the Milk & Moscone assassinations.
A fascinating and well-researched book.
A fascinating and well-researched book.
anarag's review
5.0
Well written, meticulously researched, verified with interviews, but not at all academic or stuffy. Alia Volz paints beautiful portraits of the times, the city she loves, and of her mother, Meridy--the Brownie Lady, who has never conformed or “gone straight.” Meridy is a fascinating character: Although she baked and peddled magic brownies for years, she can barely cook. An artist with a strong personality, yet she yielded to her husband’s certain (wrong-headed) vision that she would bear him a son. And she throws the I Ching before making any decision.
Memoir readers will enjoy this book, although it is not exactly a memoir: the author wasn’t even alive for more than half of its pages. History buffs may also like it and, in today’s environment of edibles, de-criminalization, and medical marijuana clinics, many readers will be astonished at how many years of imprisonment one could face for even small amounts of pot. Volz also details the political decisions behind the “War on Drugs” in which marijuana was – and still is – classified as a Schedule I drug—more heavily controlled than opioids.
No history of San Francisco in the 60s, 70s, and 80s can be told without including gay liberation, Harvey Milk, Dan White, Jim Jones…They’re all here along with vivid descriptions of the city in the days before Fisherman’s Wharf became a tourist mecca, before AIDS ravaged the Castro, and long before tech bros made every coffee shop their satellite office.
Illustrated with family photos and samples of the artful designs on the bags in which Sticky Fingers Brownies were sold. Warning: you may become hungry as you gobble up this book!
Memoir readers will enjoy this book, although it is not exactly a memoir: the author wasn’t even alive for more than half of its pages. History buffs may also like it and, in today’s environment of edibles, de-criminalization, and medical marijuana clinics, many readers will be astonished at how many years of imprisonment one could face for even small amounts of pot. Volz also details the political decisions behind the “War on Drugs” in which marijuana was – and still is – classified as a Schedule I drug—more heavily controlled than opioids.
No history of San Francisco in the 60s, 70s, and 80s can be told without including gay liberation, Harvey Milk, Dan White, Jim Jones…They’re all here along with vivid descriptions of the city in the days before Fisherman’s Wharf became a tourist mecca, before AIDS ravaged the Castro, and long before tech bros made every coffee shop their satellite office.
Illustrated with family photos and samples of the artful designs on the bags in which Sticky Fingers Brownies were sold. Warning: you may become hungry as you gobble up this book!
monicamjw's review
4.0
The author has a talent for storytelling and paints a colorful picture of her parents' lives in San Francisco in the seventies and eighties.
ashleycatharine's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A truly fascinating life, and a lot of context behind the use of marijuana, the city of San Francisco, gay rights and the AIDS epidemic.