A QUICK OVERVIEW OF

A Girl’s Story
HIPPIE BOY is a true story about a feisty teenage girl who escapes her abusive Mormon
stepfather by joining her dad on the road as a tool-selling vagabond -– until his arrest forces her
to take charge of her life.

HIPPIE BOY takes readers on Ingrid’s tumultuous journey through

childhood as she struggles to cope with the hand she’s been
dealt: a zealot Mormon mother obsessed with her family’s
salvation, a constant lack of money, and her newest nemesis, Earl
-- a homeless Vietnam vet who weasels his way into her house
and then exploits the religion’s male-dominated culture to
oppress and abuse her family.

Despite his absence, his volatile temper and a propensity for

breaking promises, Ingrid adores her free-wheeling dad. For
years she begs him to take her on the road. When her parents part ways and her mother
marries Earl, Ingrid, now thirteen, finally gets her wish.

She spends the next four summers living on the margins while hustling tools throughout the
Midwest with her dad. They sleep in rest areas and cheap motels, live on Hostess Cupcakes and
Diet Dr. Pepper, and have only one rule: no quitting each day until they’ve sold $500 worth of
tools.

Life with her dad is hard. Yet when Ingrid is with him, she feels free. He becomes her lifeline
and escape from Earl. But when he’s taken hostage and is nearly killed, Ingrid begins to worry
about her safety net. And when an employee check-bouncing scheme lands him in an Illinois
jail and she is faced with getting him out or going into foster care, Ingrid learns the lesson that
will change her life: She can’t look to others to save her; she has to save herself.

***
Ingrid was recently interviewed about HIPPIE BOY on Mormon Expression. She discusses her
experiences growing up Mormon, surviving an abusive Mormon stepfather, and discovering
that she had the inner power to save herself. To listen to the interview, click here.

Ingrid Ricks is a writer, speaker and marketer based in Seattle. She’s making
final edits to her forthcoming memoir, Hippie Boy. Read excerpts on Scribd or
at www.hippieboybook.com. If you are a publisher interested in talking to
Ingrid or her agent, please email Ingrid at: ingridricks@comcast.net If you are
interested in having Ingrid speak to your group about online marketing
strategies or embracing life, please visit: www.ingridricks.com or email her.