P.G. Smith Author

When most people think of the 1970s, they think of drugs, sex, and rock and roll, of wild clothes, long hair, the sexual revolution, and Vietnam War protests. They forget (or never knew) that most of the country was shocked and appalled by all of that. It was a time when America was caught in a tug-of-war between old values and new movements. We had the rise of feminism, environmentalism, and the fight for civil rights, while at the same time, conservative ideals were being tenaciously defended, especially in religion and politics.

Thaddeus Lamb, the main character in my novel, finds himself smack dab in the middle of this cultural clash. In fact, his life personifies it. He’s a man of faith who deeply believes in the ‘old ways,’ but he’s surrounded by a world that’s changing faster than he can comprehend. Writing about the ‘70s allowed me to explore the tension between progress and tradition, a tension that is boiling up again today.

The ‘70s gave us everything from Watergate to disco, but it was also the decade that laid the groundwork for much of the political and social turmoil we currently see. What’s your take on this era? Do you think we’re still feeling the aftershocks of the ‘70s in today’s world?