Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story

Discover the unforgettable New York Times bestselling memoir about growing up in a dysfunctional Mormon family--and finding escape, adventure, and hard-earned wisdom on the road...

What would you do if your stepfather pinned you down and tried to cast Satan out of you? For thirteen-year-old Ingrid, the answer is simple: RUN.

For years Ingrid Ricks yearned to escape the poverty and the suffocating brand of Mormon religion that oppressed her at home. Her chance came when she was thirteen and took a trip with her divorced dad, traveling throughout the Midwest, selling tools and hanging around with the men on his shady revolving sales crew. It felt like freedom from her controlling mother and cruel, authoritarian stepfather—but it came with its own disappointments and dysfunctions, and she would soon learn a lesson that would change her life: she can't look to others to save her; she has to save herself.

Ingrid Ricks is also the author of Focus, a memoir about retinitis pigmentosa, and A Little Book of Mormon (and Not So Mormon) Stories. She co-launched WeAreAbsolutelyNotOkay.org, a nationally recognized mentoring/publishing program for at-risk teens. Her essays and stories have been published in Salon, Ladies Home Journal, and The Advocate, among others.