Driving With Dead People: A Memoir - Hardcover

Holloway, Monica

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416940022 ISBN 13: 9781416940029

Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007

Synopsis

Recounts how the author struggled to retain her optimism in spite of her father's sexual abuse, her mother's abandonment, and her siblings' betrayals; her morbid fascination with a local funeral business that led to her job as a hearse driver; and the insecurities that have overshadowed her survival.

About this title

Review

"Joining searing childhood memoirs such as "The Glass Castle" and "Running with Scissors" comes the impressive "Driving with Dead People, " a fascinating, gritty, hilarious read for everyone who realized as a child -- as Monica Holloway did -- that 'we were the weird ones.' Holloway narrates her sad, funny childhood with an exquisite blend of raw honesty, deadpan wit, and compassion for her family -- and herself."
-- Leslie Morgan Steiner, "L.A. Times" bestselling editor of "Mommy Wars"

""Driving with Dead People" is a heartbreaking, hilarious, and page-turning read. In the space of one sentence Monica Holloway can break your heart and make you laugh out loud at the same time. Her memoir has the momentum of a good mystery novel -- the kind you stay up all night reading to find out what happens to the heroine, because you love her so much. This is a stunning debut of a writer who deals with difficult material and makes it fresh and moving."
-- Barbara Abercrombie, author of "Writing Out the Storm" and "Courage & Craft "

"Memoir, at its best, opens my heart and gives me a view into the core perfection of another. Monica does this in the most essential way, going directly to perfect storytelling laced with irony and humor. She held my heart with her raw, unapologetic honesty, and she flawlessly rendered what it is like to be a child who sees everything, endures it, and still loves with her whole being."
-- Jennifer Lauck, New York Times bestselling author of Blackbird and Still Waters

"A meticulously reported account of one girl's journey through a violent and unpredictable childhood. Holloway's strong voice and remarkable sense of humor, in spite of the horror in her past, make this an unforgettable read."
-- Hope Edelman, New York Times bestselling author of Motherless Daughters

"Joining searing childhood memoirs such as The Glass Castle and Running with Scissors comes the impressive Driving with Dead People, a fascinating, gritty, hilarious read for everyone who realized as a child -- as Monica Holloway did -- that 'we were the weird ones.' Holloway narrates her sad, funny childhood with an exquisite blend of raw honesty, deadpan wit, and compassion for her family -- and herself."
-- Leslie Morgan Steiner, L.A. Times bestselling editor of Mommy Wars

"Driving with Dead People is a heartbreaking, hilarious, and page-turning read. In the space of one sentence Monica Holloway can break your heart and make you laugh out loud at the same time. Her memoir has the momentum of a good mystery novel -- the kind you stay up all night reading to find out what happens to the heroine, because you love her so much. This is a stunning debut of a writer who deals with difficult material and makes it fresh and moving."
-- Barbara Abercrombie, author of Writing Out the Storm and Courage & Craft

About the Author

Monica Holloway is the critically acclaimed author of the memoir Driving with Dead People. She has contributed to the anthology Mommy Wars, from which her essay "Red Boots and Cole Haans" was described by Newsday as "brilliant, grimly hilarious." She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1416940022
• ISBN 13: 9781416940029
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 327