"Reading Mr. Hosch's memoirs made me feel as if I was part of every scene, whether living the idealistic hippie life in San Francisco or alongside the colorful characters in the ashrams of India. It's the agenda-less storytelling of a trusted friend who never manipulates the reader or leaves anything uncomfortable out of his narrative to make himself look good.” RSF, Auteur, Social Media influencer.
“The writing transported me from my home in Miami straight to the Jersey Shore, Berkeley, and San Francisco. Jersey Goes West is a compelling mix of cynicism, hope, and humor.” D.T. Beta Reader
An intelligent boy with undiagnosed learning disabilities is virtually shut out of the education system due to his lackluster grades in math and science. His parents and teachers accuse him of laziness, although his real problem is Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and dyscalculia (trouble with numbers).
In college, he experiences an epiphany on LSD and realizes that there is more to life than a dreary middle-class existence. In the following months, he grows his hair long, dresses in bellbottoms and army jackets, and becomes the most notorious marijuana dealer on his college campus.
When the college ejects him for poor grades (among other things), the young man and his best friend take a cross-country road trip in an old Mercury Comet and end up in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in 1969, aspiring to become famous musicians.
He attends Grateful Dead concerts at the Fillmore West, finds disappointment at Woodstock, witnesses the Stones' ill-fated gig at the Altamont Racetrack, and gets busted (and acquitted) on drug charges. He housesits downstairs from Janis Joplin, partners with a friend who imports hashish from Lebanon inside of religious statues, and a special chapter features the workings of an LSD commune in Coconut Grove, Florida.
Things get tense when some new acquaintances get busted trying to sell fifty pounds (two shopping carts full) of marijuana to a federal drug agent. He realizes that if he doesn’t change his outlaw life, he could be next.
