SKU: 72940083957

The Light Years: A Memoir

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The Light Years: A MemoirLambda Literary Award Finalist A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Named a best book of 2019 by Parade The Light Years is a joyous and defiant coming of age memoir set during one of the most turbulent times in American history This stunningly beautiful, original memoir is driven by a search for the divine, a quest that leads Rush into some dangerous places . . . The Light Years is funny, harrowing, and deeply tender. Kate Tuttle, The L. A.

Lambda Literary Award Finalist A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
Named a best book of 2019 by Parade

The Light Years is a joyous and defiant coming-of-age memoir set during one of the most turbulent times in American history

This stunningly beautiful, original memoir is driven by a search for the divine, a quest that leads Rush into some dangerous places . . . The Light Years is funny, harrowing, and deeply tender. --Kate Tuttle, The L.A. Times

Rush is a fantastically vivid writer, whether he's remembering a New Jersey of 'meatballs and Windex and hairspray' or the dappled, dangerous beauty of Northern California, where 'rock stars lurked like lemurs in the trees.' Read if you loved... Just Kids by Patti Smith. --Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

"As mythic and wild with love, possibility, and danger as the decades it spans, you'll read The Light Years with your breath held. Brutal, buoyant and wise to the tender terror of growing up, Chris Rush has written a timeless memoir of boyhood in the American wilderness." --Emma Cline, author of The Girls

Chris Rush was born into a prosperous, fiercely Roman Catholic, New Jersey family. But underneath the gleaming mid-century house, the flawless hostess mom, and the thriving businessman dad ran an unspoken tension that, amid the upheaval of the late 1960s, was destined to fracture their precarious facade.

His older sister Donna introduces him to the charismatic Valentine, who places a tab of acid on twelve-year-old Rush's tongue, proclaiming: "This is sacrament. You are one of us now."

After an unceremonious ejection from an experimental art school, Rush heads to Tucson to make a major drug purchase and, still barely a teenager, disappears into the nascent American counterculture. Stitching together a ragged assemblage of lowlifes, prophets, and fellow wanderers, he seeks kinship in the communes of the west. His adolescence is spent looking for knowledge, for the divine, for home. Given what Rush confronts on his travels--from ordinary heartbreak to unimaginable violence--it is a miracle he is still alive.

The Light Years is a prayer for vanished friends, an odyssey signposted with broken and extraordinary people. It transcends one boy's story to perfectly illustrate the slow slide from the optimism of the 1960s into the darker and more sinister 1970s. This is a riveting, heart-stopping journey of discovery and reconciliation, as Rush faces his lost childhood and, finally, himself.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Picador USA
Published: 03/24/2020
ISBN: 9781250251190
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.30w x 1.10d
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SKU: 72940083957

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B Helton
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 1
PLEASE REVIEW — FORMULA CHANGED!!!
I wish I would’ve posted a review PRIOR to the formula changing but just know that I LOVED this serum. I’ve struggled with hormonal acne (PCOS) and eczema for as long as I can remember. Finally, last summer my dermatologist put me on (3) different RX including Spironolactone and Accutane. I was so tired so I stopped everything except for CeraVe cleanser, retinol (Tretinoin) and CeraVe healing ointment. My made up skin routine was working until I used too much Tretinoin and burned my face. I had read great reviews about this product so I thought, I might as well try it — and IT WORKED! I’ve been using this product for almost a year and I loved it. However, 3 weeks ago when I ordered it, I noticed the bottle had a green tint. I could tell after one use that the feel of the serum was different, more watery, not as thick as it used to be. The smell was also different. Still, I kept using it for nearly 2 weeks and I experienced 2 breakouts! Sure enough, I stopped the product and within a few days, my skin was back to normal. I am very upset because as someone who has extremely sensitive skin, this worked but unfortunately, the new formula isn’t for me.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2026
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Heather
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
My skin loves this.
This might be the best face wash I’ve ever used, and I do NOT say that lightly. I have it on subscription because I panic a little at the thought of running out. For context: my skin has gone from oily, acne-prone chaos to “surprise! now you’re dry and post-menopausal” and somehow this cleanser handles ALL of it beautifully. It cleans deeply without stripping my skin, leaves my face feeling soft instead of tight, and somehow manages to make my skin look calmer, smoother, and less angry overall. My pores even look better. Also… the texture? Weirdly satisfying!! It has this rich, creamy feel that feels luxurious without being heavy. Now for my one complaint: The cap sucks and we are in an ongoing toxic relationship. The cleanser itself is elegant Korean skincare perfection. 5 stars!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2026
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Kylee
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Smells nice and doesn't irritate my senstive skin
Nice face wash. It removes makeup well and leaves my face feeling smooth and clean. Does not irritate my rosacea.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2026
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Ava
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Best Cleanser Ever
Best!!!!!! I finished 2 bottles and just got the 3rd. Makes my skin so smooth. Not drying at all. Very affordable too. Has small pores inside that does micro exfoliation. Very lightweight as well. I use it everyday, some days more than once.
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Katie collyer
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Great foaming facewash
I love this face-wash! It foams up nicely, is very light and does a great job of removing makeup, oil & dirt - leaving your skin feeling clean. I have combination skin, am not prone to acne, but do occasionally get a pimple every now and then. If you’re looking for a nice, light foaming face wash, that doesn’t burn or leave residue, try this! I highly recommend it!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2026

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