Driving w/ Dead People

I would definitely consider myself to be an avid reader, but since the beginning of Twenty Ten I’ve been absolutely devouring books.  I love how it feels to read the very last page of a book, and I’m a little bit of a book hoarder, I must admit, as I consider each one that I finish to be an important mini-accomplishment.  Like little trophies overflowing my bookshelf… 

Lately, I’ve been reading memoirs - all of which have focused on childhood trauma, dysfunctional families and serious personal struggles.  I think these stories are of particular interest to me as I had the good fortune of growing up in a relatively uneventful, suburban North Dallas neighborhood with a pretty functional family.  By comparison, my childhood was boring, but these books make me realize how truly lucky I am. 

A girl in my book club caught wind of my memoir kick and recommended that I read Driving with Dead People.  I finished it in three days flat – which is very fast for me.  If you are into memoirs or enjoy books that aren’t rainbows, butterflies and sunshine, I suggest you check out this one.

Here’s the Q+DD on Driving with Dead People:

Small wonder that, at nine years old, Monica Holloway develops a fascination with the local funeral home.  With a father who drives his Ford pickup with a Kodak movie camera sitting shotgun just in case he sees an accident, and whose home movies feature more footage of disasters than of his children, Monica is primed to become a morbid child.

Yet in spite of her father’s bouts of violence and abuse, her mother’s selfishness and prim denial, and her siblings’ personal battles and betrayals, Monica never succumbs to despair.  Instead, she forges her own way, thriving at school and becoming fast friends with Julie Kilner, whose father is the town mortician.

She and Julie preferred the casket showroom to the parks and grassy backyards in her hometown of Elk Grove, Ohio, where they would take turns lying in their favorite coffins.  In time, Monica and Julie get a job driving the company hearse to pick up bodies at the airport, yet even Monica’s growing independence can’t protect her from her parents’ irresponsibility, and from the feeling that she simply does not deserve to be safe.  Little does she know, as she finally strikes out on her own, that her parents’ biggest betrayal has yet to be revealed.

Throughout this remarkable memoir of her dysfunctional, eccentric, and wholly unforgettable family, Monica Holloway’s prose shines with humor, clear-eyed grace, and an uncommon sense of resilience.  Driving with Dead People is an extraordinary tale with a wonderfully observant and resourceful heroine – a story all the more astonishing for being true.

It was very heavy, but it’s a pretty incredible story – and a fast read. 

Lauren + I are starting this one now… 

It’s over 500 pages, so hopefully that will keep me busy through my trip to Puerto Rico next week!

xx, L