Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost: A Memoir Of Hampshire College In The Twilight Of The '80s (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
In 1986, Richard Rushfield left his hometown of Los Angeles and traveled to Massachusetts so that he could begin his freshman year at Hampshire, a liberal arts college. At first he felt lost being thousands of miles away from home but then he slowly began to adapt to this New England campus and eventually he started to hang out with a group of students who had a reputation for being misfits. Young, away at college and on their own for the first time, Richard and his friends skipped class, got drunk, smoked pot, snorted cocaine and partied late into the night. Eventually their destructive behavior caught up with them and they were either placed on probation or were being threatened with expulsion. Despite all the trouble he got into or the spectacular adventures he had (his words), Richard Rushfield considers the time he spent at Hampshire College the most memorable years of his life.I enjoy reading memoirs, especially from authors who are close in age to me and are from my generation because it’s always fun for me when that author mentions a song or band in their book that I grew up listening to and when that happens, I get to enjoy traveling down memory lane and reminisce about that time of my life. Unfortunately, in this memoir that occurred only occasionally; the majority of this book was about the different shenanigans Richard Rushfield and his friends pulled and it got to the point where I felt like they were scenes out of the film Animal House. Richard and his friends come across as childish and immature and after a while I was bored with this book and couldn’t wait to finish it. Richard Rushfield’s memoir, “Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost” details his years spent at Hampshire College during the late 80’s/ early 90’s. I simply did not buy into his story at all. It felt like someone who was recalling a series of events that over the years grew more monumental in his own mind. I also think they are stories that are far more interesting to the people who were actually there, rather than the reader. I felt like I was reading a bunch of inside jokes that I just didn’t get.Rushfield explains that Hampshire was a very experimental college. I get it. I have done the small liberal arts college thing. In fact, my experience at Bard, included a very odd class registration process that seems would have fit right in as part of Rushfield’s college experience. I just didn’t buy into the extremes of Rushfield’s story. It was too much. It was also not very interesting to read. If you’re going to be outlandish, at least be entertaining.
What do You think about Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost: A Memoir Of Hampshire College In The Twilight Of The '80s (2009)?
I am having a hard time getting into this book. I don't know why I should care yet.
—raven
This was easily one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. Fantastic!
—Kp123
A great read that uses my safety school as a backdrop.
—marissa
