Neil Young: Waging Heavy Peace, Reminiscing at its Finest

​I knew nothing about Neil Young before I picked up his book, Waging Heavy Peace:A Hippie Dream. Of course I’m not entirely without a clue: I knew his name, his iconic stature, could even sing along to Old Man, Who can’t? In retrospect, I don’t even know what prompted me to purchase the 467 page book at full on retail price. But I did, and it turned out to be the best twenty bucks I spent this year. I LOVED this book. I took lots of ‘brain breaks’ to check out his Bridge School, watch Crazy Horse videos on YouTube and visit Rasputin to pick up a couple of his vinyl records. Dare I say? I have, at long last, become a Neil Young fan? Yes, I have. By the way, Old man was not written about his father, but like he says, “music is for those who receive it.”) This is a memoir, and a damn good one at that. I imagine sitting at a cozy breakfast nook, sun streaming through the window to capture the steam of freshly brewed coffee as it curls into the air; across from me, this cool old hippie dude, reminiscing, telling stories about a life well lived and one he continues to live well. One of the main criticisms I have read regarding this book, is that it is long; too long, some would say. (The Elegance of the Hedgehog, now that was too long after page one.) We have evolved into a society where we rush everything. We condense our messages into 140 character tweets, abbreviate words into text lingo and emoticons and communicate through status updates, which average two sentences in length. That is not how this book is meant to be read. Like a fine Gigondas, which you have patiently waited to age, it’s not meant to be hurried, the experience is not meant to be punctuated. You stroll through the sentences, wander over the words, and like all good things in life—you savor it. The writing style is conversational, as he ambles through stories, some seemingly unrelated, only to arrive at a ‘life-lesson’, a truth that he has come to know—and can only know after living a life; and shouldn’t’ that be a litmus test for writing a memoir? That you have lived a little longer than twenty-something years? And Neil Young has lived. Through heartache and heartbreak, incredible highs—(both literally and figuratively) and undiminished joy, Neil Young takes us on the Crazy Horse-Ride of Life. As for me, I would happily take the ride again.

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