Now They Make it Legal: Reflections of an Aging Baby Boomer

Mercurochrome. JFK. Beatlemania. Vietnam. Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. These are just some of the memories from the Baby Boom era that are captured in NOW they make it legal: Reflections of an aging Baby Boomer. The book traces the evolution of American culture from the "black and white" 1950s through the turbulent 1960s and into the '70s, ending in the 1980s "when we began to turn into our parents." It tells the history of the Baby Boom generation through the eyes of one of the 80 million people born between 1946 and 1964 – the greatest period of population growth in U.S. history. Baby Boomers grew up during a time of great change in America and had a major impact – in music, politics, pop culture and society at large. This nostalgic and fact-filled collection of stories will entertain those who were there, and educate those who weren't.

NOW they make it legal: Reflections of an aging Baby Boomer was named a 2016 "Reviewer's Choice" by Midwest Book Review. "NOW They Make it Legal is a fabulous, firmly tongue-in-cheek tour of bygone decades. Award-winning journalist Howard Harrison has crafted a memoir so vivid it's the next best thing to a time machine. These anecdotes will enlighten, startle, perplex, and inspire readers of all generations." The stories in NOW they make it legal are served up chronologically, providing an anthology of significant events in American culture during that time. Beginning with the innocence of childhood in the 1950s – from riding your tricycle to the corner "five-and-dime" to your mother slathering mercury-laden antiseptic on every nick, scrape and cut – the author paints a vivid picture of a bygone era. The majority of stories occur in the '60s and '70s, when both the country and the author underwent major transformations. The country got color TV, the Beatles, Medicare and new civil rights legislation. It also suffered assassinations, race riots, war protests and other civil unrest. The decade began with the election of a young, liberal president that gave people hope for the future. It ended with the country badly divided, even while men were walking on the moon. By the 1980s, the "New Right" signaled a shift from the liberal ideals of the '60s and '70s. Boomers began getting married and having kids of their own. The author declares this the "end of the Boom." NOW they make it legal conveys a lot of history and nostalgia in very few pages. The seamless juxtaposition of historical facts and personal anecdotes make this an easy, entertaining and informative read.

Howard Harrison is an award-winning journalist with more than 40 years of experience writing for corporations and other organizations. NOW They Make it Legal: Reflections of an Aging Baby Boomer is his first bylined book title. Mr. Harrison earned his journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978. After college, he worked as a writer, editor and communications executive for several large organizations in the Chicago area before forming his own business – Harrison Editorial Inc. – in 1994. He recently ghost-wrote a book on a father's experience raising a son with autism. Mr. Harrison began his career with Walgreen Company as editor of the company magazine, Walgreen World, and managed grand opening publicity for new Walgreen stores. In 1980, he joined the Hospital Financial Management Association as writer/editor of an 84-page journal. He then was tapped by the accounting firm Alexander Grant & Company to lead communications for the newly formed Grant Thornton International – the product of a merger between Alexander Grant in the United States and Thornton Baker in the United Kingdom. Mr. Harrison later worked as an "editor at large" for the American Bar Association Press before landing at Baxter International, a global health care products company, in 1983. He led employee communications during Baxter's historic merger with American Hospital Supply Corporation in 1985 and created a new employee magazine that won the Gold Quill Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators in 1991. Mr. Harrison later served as executive writer and editor at Baxter, writing speeches for senior executives and managing the company's annual shareholder report, which won numerous awards under his direction. As president of Harrison Editorial Inc., Mr. Harrison has provided writing and editorial services to a range of clients and has won numerous awards for his writing.