GUMBOOT GIRLS - Review

Gumboot Girls – Adventure, Love and Survival on British Columbia's North Coast. Caitlin press 2014

Thousands of young women migrated to the countryside in the early 1970s. Some fled the emptiness and conformity of the suburbs. American women came in opposition to the Viet Nam War. All were members of the counter cultural “back to the land movement.” 

A number of women ended up in the Haida Gwaii and the Prince Rupert areas, finding adventure, community and a resourcefulness few imagined they ever possessed. Gumboot Girls is a collection of stories from 34 of these women. Eager and quick to learn from the locals, hard working, and with a level of education few others possessed, the “girls” soon became key members of their adopted homeland, providing leadership in community building and the defense of the environment against corporate plundering. Some women left the North Coast, but their experiences have remained with them, helping them in their new living situations. These stories are a powerful antidote to the stupid cliches spread about the 1960s and '70s counter culture. At a time when it is easy to fall into despair, Gumboot Girls is a highly inspiring and positive voice.