Monday, December 3, 2007

Driving with Dead People by Monica Holloway


Whoa. I love it when I'm reading a book and I don't want to stop. And then, when I'm finished, I want to tell everyone about it. Holloway's memoir is like that. Her story is funny and well-written and clever. I was giggling at the beginning. But the dark undercurrent is always present. She wets the bed. Her sisters and brother act funny. Her mom is in permanent denial and finally leaves her husband and wants to leave her children. Or at least pretend that they are normal.

Monica finds comfort in her childhood best friend's family, which owns a funeral home. But that doesn't completely save her from her own dysfunctional family. As Monica grows up, she knows that something is wrong. But it isn't until her older sister has a mental breakdown that she begins to wonder if their father abused all of the children. Did he? Can she remember it happening? Whoa.

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