The Girl with the Flower

by Janrose Kasmir

It was recognised as one of the most iconic photographs of its time. The ultimate confrontation: the flower and the bayonet. At the height of the anti-Vietnam war protests in America, a young peace campaigner, Jan Rose Kasmir, confronted the National Guard armed only with a chrysanthemum.It was the 60s, the time of free love and mind-bending drugs, flower power and the hippy movement. Did you ever wonder what happened to the flower child in the photo?In her long-awaited and highly acclaimed autobiography, Jan lays it bare. In an honest and frank account, she pulls no punches and talks about the sex and the drugs, her stays in state mental institutions, the death of her sister and the collapse of her family, which she would spend a lifetime overcoming. Yet, she never forgot about what she believed was her role in life - a peace campaigner, first and foremost.Through the gloom and despair emerges inspiration, a true story of love, of how she managed to prise herself from the jaws of self-destruction, and ultimately learn how to love her daughter and most of all, herself.