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From Publishers Weekly
This perceptive, uplifting chronicle shows how much Simon, a creative writing professor at Bryn Mawr College, had to learn from her mentally retarded sister, Beth, about life, love and happiness. Beth lives independently and is in a long-term romantic relationship, but perhaps the most surprising thing about her, certainly to her (mostly) supportive family, is how she spends her days riding buses. Six days a week (the buses don't run on Sundays in her unnamed Pennsylvania city), all day, she cruises around, chatting up her favorite drivers, dispensing advice and holding her ground against those who find her a nuisance. Rachel joined Beth on her rides for a year, a few days every two weeks, in an attempt to mend their distanced relationship and gain some insight into Beth's daily life. She wound up learning a great deal about herself and how narrowly she'd been seeing the world. Beth's community within the transit system is a much stronger network than the one Rachel has in her hectic world, and some of the portraits of drivers and the other people in Beth's life are unforgettable. Rachel juxtaposes this with the story of their childhood, including the dissolution of their parents' marriage and the devastating abandonment by their mother, the effect of which is tied poignantly to the sisters' present relationship. Although she is honest about the frustrations of relating to her stubborn sister, Rachel comes to a new appreciation of her, and it is a pleasure for readers to share in that discovery. Agent, Anne Edelstein. (Aug. 26) Forecast: A blurb from Rosie O'Donnell and an author tour should pique women readers' interest.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-When she received an invitation to her mentally retarded sister's annual Plan of Care review, Simon realized that this was Beth's way of attempting to bring her back into her life. Beth challenged the author to give a year of her life to riding "her" buses with her. Even though Simon didn't know where it would take her, she accepted. During that time, she came to see her sister as a person in her own right with strong feelings about how she wanted to live her life, despite what others thought. Not everyone on the buses, drivers or passengers, liked or even tolerated Beth, and it shamed the author to realize that she sometimes felt the same way about her sibling. As the year passed, Simon came to the realization that "No one can be a good sister all the time. I can only try my best. Just because I am not a saint does not mean that I am a demon." The time together became a year of personal discovery, of acceptance, and of renewed sibling love and closeness. Clear writing and repeated conversations allow readers to hear the voices of both sisters. There is much to mull over, to enjoy, and to savor in this book.
Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
"Wake up," my sister Beth says. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
"Wake up," my sister Beth says. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
100% Truthfull,
This review is from: Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey (Hardcover)
I am one of the bus drivers mentioned in the book and can testify to the fact that this book tells the truth about how Beth, the handicaped sister, acts on the bus and how others treat her. It also addresses the fact that people like to belittle her. People do struggle with the rather new fact that the handicaped are more free than in the past. This book addresses that. The book is a great light for all of us to follow. Beth's sister is led to the path of acceptance and love and out of the darkness of misunderstanding. Reading this book will do the same for anyone with an open heart. Highly recomended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful read......a book worth the money,
By A Customer
This review is from: Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey (Hardcover)
this book teaches a great deal about self-determination in everyone's lives it is one of the best memoirs I ever read in my 12 years of living ~Rachel touches our hearts with the true words of her life with what she once overcame with her sister Beth~ She teaches and learns herself to be more open in the world around her as I did learn to ~This is one book you should neve regret reading, as I did once but came to enjoy it~ Through her book you reach the sad ends where it makes you cry, the happy ends where it makes you smile and the funny ends where it makes you laugh...this book touched my heart dearly~
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Can Relate,
By A Customer
This review is from: Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey (Hardcover)
My mother mentioned this book to me after hearing the author interviewed on NPR. I thought she'd read it. She's usually read everything. I found it at the library, took it home, and read it in one sitting. I am the oldest of three sisters. The second oldest is MMR and wasn't actually diagnosed until the age of 18. I was four when Mom brought her home from the hospital and I remember wondering if we could send her back. Working in the transportation industry along with having a sister who is developmentally disabled, I was bound to like this book. My favorite part was Rachel's realization of what self-determination actually means. My family and I struggle with this in regards to my sister and her choices. I plan to buy this book for my boss as my one year anniversary present to myself. Every bus driver who drives the public and/or the disabled should be required to read it. This book showed me that as a sibling of a woman with developmental disabilities I am not alone. Thanks Rachel!
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