Book Description

The Undiscovered Country, the second part of Stan Erisman’s autobiographical sixpart book series called Hindsights, begins where NaturalShocks left off: with Norm and Stan’s busride across the American West, from Chicago to San Francisco in June 1964. Unlike Norm, Stan has to struggle to make a clean break with his upbringing as a Fundamentalist Christian. But both young men revel in their new-found freedom, while meeting the challenges of finding jobs, housing and companionship in a totally new environment– and drifting apart. That fall, Stan meets Jeanette, his first great love. He also causes a senseless rift with Norm, and takes his first university course. Stan’s mom does everything in her power to interfere in Stan and Jeanette’s plans to marry, but their love eventually wins the day. Meanwhile, Stan becomes enraged at how he and his fellow workers are treated. Lacking a clear moral compass, he takes the law into his own hands with potentially disastrous results. Stan and Jeanette work together to divest themselves of the remnants of their childhood indoctrination, while developing new guidelines for living. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War continues to escalate –a war that Stan finds unjust. He and Jeanette decide to flee to Canada, where Stan enrolls in graduate school at UBC. But they soon becomes restless, and Jeanette suggests they move to Europe instead. And Stan begins to paint again.