by Rachel Simon
First published 2003
Rachel Simon chronicles the year she spent riding public buses with her sister Beth, who has an intellectual disability. Beth lives her days traveling the bus routes of their Pennsylvania city, forming relationships with drivers who serve as her guides and fellow passengers who become her community. When Beth invites Rachel to join her for an entire year of bus rides, Rachel discovers a world she never knew existed. Rachel, a busy writer and college professor, finds herself learning unexpected lessons about living in the present moment and paying attention to what truly matters. Through their shared journeys, the sisters navigate memories of childhood abandonment and forge deeper bonds. Rachel encounters the often overlooked world of mental disability while finding extraordinary meaning in ordinary encounters. The book weaves together their current adventures with memories of fierce loyalty between sisters and remarkable acts of forgiveness.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary, memoir, non-fiction, disability
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Pennsylvania
Period: Contemporary
296 pages · Paperback · Plume
Content warnings: mental-illness