A Freewheelin' Time

A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties

By: Suze Rotolo

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Suze Rotolo chronicles her coming of age in Greenwich Village during the 1960s and the early days of the folk music explosion, when Bob Dylan was finding his voice and she was his muse.  

A shy girl from Queens, Suze was the daughter of Italian working-class communists, growing up at the dawn of the Cold War. It was the age of McCarthy, and Suze was an outsider in her neighborhood and at school. She found solace in poetry, art, and music - and in Greenwich Village, where she encountered like-minded and politically active friends. One hot July day in 1961, Suze met Bob Dylan, then a rising musician, at a concert at Riverside Church. She was 17, he was 20; they were both vibrant, curious, and inseparable. During the years they were together, Dylan transformed from an obscure folk singer into an uneasy spokesperson for a generation.  

A Freewheelin' Time is a hopeful, intimate memoir of a vital movement at its most creative. It captures the excitement of youth, the heartbreak of young love, and the struggles for a brighter future in a time when everything seemed possible.

©2008 Suze Rotolo (P)2020 Tantor

An extraordinary woman sheds light on her time, and Dylan

Suze Rotolo’s story of making her way from age 17 to 23 in the Greenwich Village of the early 60s is above all, inspiring as a beacon of how a strong young woman navigated her way through an era that didn’t support strong women. It’s no surprise Dylan found her irresistible, and yes, as a huge Dylan fan, I loved the insights into his character at the dawn of his career. The narrator seems to channel Suze’s vibe. I wish I could have known her, and Dylan was lucky that he did. She broke it off because she couldn’t live with the insanity and loss of privacy that accompanied his life of superstardom, but she bears full witness to his genius (and faults, though never harshly). I’m so glad for her that she made such wise choices and created such a fulfilling life for herself (though the book doesn’t extend into her life beyond the 60s). Well done! Life well and fully lived, on her own terms.

excellent look at 60's us culture...and dylan

suze, best known as Dylan's cover girl, was very interesting. she gives great insight into Dylan starting his career, until 65, and is interesting herself