No Direction Home

Jesse Lang doesn’t know if he’s a coward. Given the nickname “Rabbit” because of a premature encounter at an Idaho whorehouse, he’s struggling with his manhood as he gains maturity during the turbulence of the antiwar movement in the late 60s. No Direction Home takes place in the idyllic and magical city of Bellingham, Washington and on the campus of Western Washington University. The town has become a peacenik epicenter for radical protests against the illegal police action in South Vietnam and a hotbed for counterculture activity and cosmic growth. Rabbit befriends several student leaders, finds the love of his life, learns the value of pharmaceuticals, battles his draft board, organizes demonstrations, and teaches his rugby teammates how to inhale and hold it. His primary mentor, Myron, educates Rabbit and fellow students on the absurdity, crimes, and greed of elected leaders in one fact-filled discussion after the other. Always, the beauty of the city and the university provide a glittering framework for the story as Rabbit takes on the Selective Service and fights his induction into the United States Military. The book bounces from the serious to playful in order to display the swiftly changing times and the need to escape the carnage on the Evening News.