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Andrew Scot Bolsinger May 21, 2004 12:00 AM A A The truth about the '60s is jarring, — but valuable — I start the conversation with Gerry Jones about his book, — "Ginny Good," by telling him that I just finished it and passed it on — to my 17-year-old daughter to read. — He groans, "There's bad stuff in there. Bad things happen." — — Which is exactly why I wanted her to read it. Jones' memoirs — are so down and dirty true that it strips away all the fantasy, glory — and magic of lives utterly turned inside out by drug use, physical and — emotional abuse, rampant sex and all that was once simply known as "The — '60s." — "It ended up being exactly the way I wanted it to be," — Jones says. — He likens it to the American classic, "In Cold Blood," — which tells the tale of a brutal Midwestern murder in the form of a novel. — "Ginny Good," Jones says, is a "non-fiction novel. That's — all there is to it. It's got all the narrative arc and all that junk you — are supposed to have as a novel." — But above all that is that Jones simply has a story to — tell, about his life and those he came in contact with during the '60s — and early '70s, mostly in San Francisco. — It's all too true, which makes reading it pretty important. — Fun and games — Jones is right when he says "there's bad stuff in there," — but the book is not heavy or sad. Jones approaches the tell-all story — with a light and witty hand. — The stories come in a matter-of-fact way that accentuates — their humor and clarity. The sadness behind some of the stories sneaks — up on you. — "The people who were screwed up were the ones that didn't — have families," Jones says. "They were all just damaged." — Including the star of the book, Jones' ex-lover Ginny — Good, a genuine enigma who radiates through her own dysfunction. — Jones calls her "a compelling force in that hippie thing." — Good's sister, who Jones points out became infamous for her association — to the Manson gang, "was sort of drab," compared to Ginny. — Even more compelling than Ginny is the clear-eyed look — at the drugged up world of the '60s. All the icons of the era make cameos — in the book, including The Grateful Dead, Ken Kesey and Timothy Leary. — — Jones and Ginny moved in the same circles, saw the same — events unfolding. But modern interpretation of these colorful times is — what Jones hopes to correct with his book. — "[The '60s] wasn't the way it's cracked up to be," Jones — says today from the Ashland home he shares with his mother. "They got — it wrong, it wasn't like that. It was like real people, living their regular — lives. It wasn't just dancing in the park and taking drugs. That just — wasn't the point." — Moving ahead backward — Crisp writing moves the first half of the book along back — to the '60s, as it uncoils like a huge slinky through four decades of — memories, only to recoil forward to present day Ashland in the second — half. — In the middle is the climactic moment, according to Jones — - what he simply calls "the acid chapter." — "That was it. That was the point. That was the '60s, that — was the revolution if you will. I think I did a good job depicting it." — After the acid chapter, the inevitable decline ensues. — Fate takes its toll. The '60s close, another era moves on. — "In terms of what is indelible of a person's life is when — they are 18 to 28," Jones says, "which is what the book is for me." — Now, with the perspective of many years, a silver lining — emerges from the sadness. — "I finally figured out what it was about, and it was about — family stuff," Jones says. "Just somehow having to do with family value — kind of stuff." — As our conversation winds down, Jones admits that giving — the book to my daughter probably wasn't a bad idea. His own grandkids — will read it too, he says. Because for whatever the book "Ginny Good" — is, it's true. — And the truth really does set you free.