U.S. and Them

In this memoir of growing up in the 1960s Cold War, Patricia Bjorklund narrates a girlhood filled with John Birch Society activism, racial tensions, concepts of sin and hell, and the ominous and omnipresent fears of nuclear apocalypse--and, conversely, the glowing redemptive powers of hope and happiness.

"The na vet and paranoia of the Cold War years are perfectly rendered in Patricia Bjorklund's irresistible memoir of a working-class Connecticut childhood. Khrushchev is plotting, Communism is menacing, the traditional Catholic mass is changing and her pretty, patriotic, white mom is wearing a wire and infiltrating the Black Panthers in a flip and a miniskirt. Amid all this turmoil, Patricia navigates girlhood and adolescence with a loyal heart, an observant eye, and a sarcastic wit. If you grew up in the Cold War era, you'll love this book for the memories it rekindles--and if you didn't, it will make you wish you'd been there."

--Evelyn Somers. Associate Editor, The Missouri Review