About the Book

A Change Is Going to Come: Growing up in the 60s

A Change Is Going to Come is a moving coming-of-age story set during one of the most unsettled times in American history.

The book follows the McManus family, focusing on the youngest son, Phillip, as his quiet Iowa childhood collides with a nation in crisis. Through the eyes of this ordinary family, readers feel the impact of extraordinary events: the assassination of a president, the struggle for civil rights, the explosion of rock and roll, the Vietnam War, and the growing pressure placed on young people to choose who they will become.

What makes the story powerful is its personal scale. These historic moments don’t stay on the evening news; they enter kitchens, classrooms, family arguments, and private fears. Small-town life is forever changed, just like the people living it.

While some names and events are fictionalized, the emotions are deeply real. Drawing from his own memories, military service, and family history, Charles Vaughn brings honesty, warmth, and credibility to every page.

At its heart, this is a story about growing up in uncertain times, about doubt, courage, loss, and hope. It shows what it means to find your voice and your values when the world around you is being remade.