Home Free Home: A Complete History of Two Open Land Communes Paperback – May 25, 2017

The inhabitants of Morningstar and Wheeler's Ranch were the counter-culture's counterculture. There is only so far out one can drop and remain attached to the planet. Ramon Sender Barayon has done a remarkable job of telling the story of these two noble experiments in free-form living on pieces of land "Access to which is denied no one." The truly boggling parts of this story are how much enmity - cultural, personal, political, and legal - was brought to bear on people whose only goal was to live simply and (mostly) self-sufficiently waaaay off the grid of the dominant American culture of the late-60's. By 1973 both Morningstar and Wheeler inhabitants had seen their homes bulldozed and been sent packing as a result of ordinances and laws that were enacted after the fact specifically to foil their desire to live peacefully as their individual choices dictated.The story told here by a wide array of the people involved is a wild ride, a jaw-dropping collection of improbable characters and tales (some rather tall tales amongst them) starting when former folk-music star Lou Gottlieb opened his Morningstar ranch property to a small coterie of visionary friends - including Ramon Sender Barayon - and saw it become a safe haven for psychedelic refugees of the Haight Ashbury during the over-hyped and over-stimulated Summer of Love. By the time the Powers That Be had drained away his fortune in legal fees and officially closed the experiment down , Bill Wheeler, another neighbor with a much larger property had opened his gates wide and the game was truly afoot.If you thought you knew what the late 60's was really like, think again.

I lived at Wheeler's Ranch (aka Ahimsa Church, aka Sheep Ridge Ranch) for about 20 months, from late summer 1971 to spring 1973. I knew many of the characters mentioned in the book, and I greatly appreciate Ramon's efforts at compiling the oral histories of its many residents, both the founding individuals and families and the first wave of settlers. The descriptions bring back vivid memories of my time there, and the social and political backgrounds he and others provide help to contextualize and highlight the radical and experimental nature of our community. Much of the writing is superb! Vivid, honest, and startling in its immediacy or seasoned by the perspective of many years.

Thank you

Wheeler's Ranch was my safe space when I was a 14 year old boy, run away from a dysfunctional home in the midwest. It was the safe refuge that allowed me to survive and go on to live a full life.

Breathtaking and amazing; A slice of life in the midst of a revolution. Ramon has been writing this book for over 60 years. It catches the emotions of the time. If there were another STAR I would place it here. Tomas Muse 'n Stories I

A master work of love, celebration and remembrance. Gracias amigo. Good to have one 'sane' friend.