In this sequel to the memoir Confessions of a Hippie, author Adriana Bardolino struggles to make her art and work synonymous. She falls in and out of love with masters of distance, while seeking true love. She still records her feelings and life events in journals, and she tucks precious photos away in albums as unsolved mysteries. Approaching thirty, Bardolino searches for something to replace the security of the old commune. She seeks therapy to unlock her self destructive habits. On a month's vacation to Hawaii, she experiences an artistic rebirth and decides the island of Maui is where she belongs. A tragic turn of events in her life thwarts her dream. She is tossed into an abyss of longing and regret. Filled with love, art, romance, humor, sex, and history, mostly on a tropical island, Love and Loathing in the Islands shares Bardolino's story from 1975 to 1981 when she faced a crossroads in her life. Will Adriana find Gauguin and true love?