More Adventures of a Montana Misfit
MORE ADVENTURES OF A MONTANA MISFIT
Still Coming of Age in the 60’s
by Lyle Manley
softcover, 488 pages, 6 x 9
22 Black & White Photos
ISBN: 978-1-59152-187-7
$24.00
The follow-up to Adventures of a Montana Misfit: Coming of Age in the 50’s and 60’s. continues the fascinating story of author Lyle Manley’s young life. Inspired by true events, the story picks up in 1962 as the narrator begins junior high school in Bozeman, Montana. With an awkward—and occasionally hilarious—attempt to navigate teenage society, the author endures a stint in the Boy Scouts, camping trips, Little League baseball, a paper route, art projects gone awry, excruciating embarrassments, and a lesson showing there is no career in being a wise guy.
In high school, things begin to change rapidly, propelled by the overwhelming impulse to be one of the popular students. With this, the narrator's notions of the world become ever more at odds with reality. Soon, drinking escapades become increasingly reckless, resulting in arrest, fraternizing with lawyers, and jail. Before the author's senior year of high school, the family moves to Great Falls, Montana. The process of attending a new school while surviving what was left behind results in further exploits for the highlight reel. The late 1960’s bring the Vietnam War and social turmoil even to Montana, mirroring the narrator's disorientation.