"A wonderful view of Jack Kerouac and, most of all, a classic coming of age story. Brilliant and very moving to read: honest, funny, sad, and beautiful. I couldn't put it down."–David Amram
"A remarkable and intimate portrait of Greenwich Village in the fifties. The material on Kerouac, Ginsberg, Lenny Bruce, et al, provides a valuable and highly readable account of that important era. A wonderful and irreplaceable book, gracefully written with a sense of humor as well as of history."–Dan Wakefield
"Weaver discovered herself in the 1950s, with Kerouac and other artists like Ginsberg and Lenny Bruce, and although most Americans don't have an impressive list of famous friends, her story is our story; every twenty-something college graduate experiences the ecstasy of new ideas and profound perception that comes with real life. Whether our is in New York City or Nowhere, USA, Weaver's experience is comparable to all our experiences in this country–this is what makes The Awakener so readable and touching; these characters appear in every American's past."–Meredith Boe
"This book does a good job of humanizing and demystifying the Beats. All the parties, problems, romances, brief affairs and hurt feelings Weaver talks about are specific to her and her friends in the '50s, but very much like the things my friends and I went through in the '70s, and that artistic young people are going through today while coming of age, groping for identity, finding love and making their way in the world."–Dan Barth
"This book is evidence that the fifties had more going on than Leave It to Beaver. It's primarily the story of Helen Weaver's love affair with Jack Kerouac, but it also delves into her juicy romances with other lovers (of both genders), most notably Lenny Bruce. Weaver, who Kerouac portrayed as Ruth Heaper in Desolation Angels, had a whirlwind life outside of bed, too. She was involved with the publishing industry, was a French-English translator, and fought for the legalization of marijuana. At twenty-five, Weaver got her first taste of Buddhism from Kerouac, but she wasn't yet ready for the first noble truth. Years later she read The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh, and felt that she had come home. That said, she admits, 'My own practice has never really taken hold, and in this I am a little like Jack.'"–Andrea Miller
"The Awakener's first chapters are energized by Weaver's personal liberation at a time when America itself was starting to wake up. She smokes pot, explores the limits of her sexuality and defends Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' to high-minded literary pals like poet Richard Howard...But the most touching moments in the book take place when Weaver focuses her keen powers of observation on the soul of her wounded hero...Now 78 and living in Woodstock, she has come to appreciate the two-fold nature of his role as an awakener in her life. As a playful and enthusiastic lover, Kerouac helped initiate her into the richness of existence. And with his own Christianized version of the dharma, he made her aware of the brevity and preciousness of our time on Earth."–Steve Silberman, San Francisco Chronicle
"Weaver proves to be brilliantly honest throughout her memoir while placing readers in the thick of the New York Beat scene as only one who has lived it can. Her thoughtful reflection is rendered with loving care and great attention to detail, while transfixing the reader in a forgotten time. Through clear and straightforward language Weaver unapologetically places the real value of her experiences and her interpretations of those experiences ahead of the legends she encountered, while still paying them the tribute they deserve. It is a fine line to walk, but she does so gracefully and authentically."–Candace Eros Diaz, MARY Magazine
"...a vivid recoll
