Reviewed by Janice Airhart
Posted on: November 21, 2024
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I often choose books based on what they can teach me. Desert Haven, by Penelope Starr, introduced me to the womyn’s land movement, coinciding with the second wave feminist movement of the 1970s. Though I was a young woman during this period, I was unaware of the women-only communities established throughout the US as part of the movement, which included a dedication to sustainable living. Residents often subsisted on what could be grown on or cultivated from the earth. Through Starr’s engaging storytelling about a colorful cast of female residents and travelers to the community of Arizona’s Desert Haven, I discovered a little-known era in lesbian women’s history.
Starr organizes her book according to individual women’s narratives, providing a year for context. Her account begins in 1977 and continues through 2015, depicting the intimate lives and relationships of fifteen women. Desert Haven’s owner, JoJo, is a constant figure until her death near the end of the book. Several other characters’ stories connect and overlap, appearing in multiple chapters and creating a bridge between the decades.
The ten-acre plot that make up Desert Haven is, in a way, the protagonist of the story. Readers become familiar with the landscape through vivid descriptions such as this one by an early resident named Martie: “Cholla buds with hooked barbs that hurt more on the way out than on the way in. Mesquite tree thorns the size of large sewing needles that defy you to harvest their beans. Gila monsters whose locked jaws chewed toxins into you. And, of course, the deadly and ubiquitous rattlesnake.”
The ruggedness of Desert Haven’s environment is the point. It guarantees little interest by outsiders, aside from a few “townie” lesbians who come for monthly rituals or celebrations. Residents are largely left alone to manage the land as needed to sustain themselves. As JoJo says, “The cycle of growth and decline progresses with us—and without us.”
Most residents mind their own business well, but a few visitors to Desert Haven cause a stir, including a visiting trans woman (no penises were allowed on the property) and sex educator who provides a session on the wide range of gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual attractions. In the process of educating the Desert Haven residents, the character also educates readers like me.
I suspect I am not the ideal reader for this book, yet I found myself fascinated by the characters’ determination to live life as they see fit. Their courage and independence in carving out a living from a harsh desert environment is inspiring.
A Research and Development Grant of the Arizona Commission on the Arts supported Starr’s extensive research, adding authenticity to her lively narratives and sometimes quirky characters. Women’s land communities once spanned the US but have receded to near invisibility today. A few of them are still active, but most exist under the radar for reasons which are now obvious to me after reading Desert Haven.
