Thanks to very my first critique partner, Elizabeth Vershowske. To Ian Cavanaugh, for your invaluable insights and analysis, to Michelle Gullixon for the honest feedback and unwavering loyalty, to Robin Roberts for being my “extra mommy.” Thank you to my “name dude” John Denart for the unsolicited belief in me, to Danielle Barnum for her phenomenal photography skills, and to Mollie Fischer--my courageous butt-double.
Thanks to my precious and precocious beta-readers: Anna, Kelly, Jon-Michael, Lana, and Tatya.
Also, a big thank you to my parents--for bringing me into this world and fostering the conviction that I could somehow affect it for the better.
Finally, I’d like to thank all of my most enduring friends who choose to overlook my daydreaming, glazed looks, and sudden impulse to suspend conversation so I can write down a thought before it’s lost to the void of my ADD-addled mind.
Book Club Discussion Questions
1. How would you describe your personal experience with this book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it?”
2. Describe the main character, Angeli — personality, motivations, self-perception.
3. Does Angeli change by the end of the book? Does she grow or mature?
4. Why might the author have chosen to tell her story the way she did?
5. What main ideas/themes does the author explore?
6. Are any of the events in the book relevant to your own life?
7. Was there a specific passage, quote, or scene that elicited a strong reaction from you — good or bad? Share the passage and its effect.
8. Did you find the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not?
9. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Have you read other books by this author? If so, how does this book compare? If not, does this book inspire you to read others?
10. Has this book broadened your perspective in any way? Have you learned something new, or been exposed to a different way of looking at something?
11. Did you feel this book truly belonged in the nonfiction genre?
12. Compare this book to other memoirs you’ve read. Is it similar to any of them? What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book?
Table of Contents
Disclaimer
Part 1
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Part 2
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Part 3
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Book Club Discussion Questions
Once Upon A Road Trip Page 45