{"product_id":"heaven-is-a-place-on-earth-searching-for-an-american-utopia","title":"Heaven is a Place on Earth: Searching for an American Utopia","description":"An exploration of American ideas of utopia through the lens of one millennial's quest to live a more communal life under late-stage capitalism\nTold in a series of essays that balance memoir with fieldwork, Heaven Is a Place on Earth is an idiosyncratic study of American utopian experiments--from the Shakers to the radical faerie communes of Short Mountain to the Bronx rebuilding movement--through the lens of one woman's quest to create a more communal life in a time of unending economic and social precarity.\nWhen Adrian Shirk's father-in-law has a stroke and loses his ability to speak and walk, she and her husband--both adjuncts in their midtwenties--become his primary caretakers. The stress of these new responsibilities, coupled with navigating America's broken health-care system and ordinary twenty-first-century financial insecurity, propels Shirk into an odyssey through the history and present of American utopian experiments in the hope that they might offer a way forward.\nAlong the way, Shirk seeks solace in her own community of friends, artists, and theologians. They try to imagine a different kind of life, examining what might be replicable within the histories of utopia-making, and what might be doomed. Rather than \"no place,\" Shirk reframes utopia as something that, according to the laws of capital and conquest, shouldn't be able to exist--but does anyway, if only for a moment.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 1640093575\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.1640093575.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Shirk, Adrian\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43608348098621,"sku":"BVV.1640093575.G","price":14.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/1640093575-0.jpg?v=1789162048","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/heaven-is-a-place-on-earth-searching-for-an-american-utopia","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}