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Driving Backwards
Gilmanton was briefly the most famous town in America. Today the town, nestled amongst the hills of Central New Hampshire and along the curve of the Suncook River, is a microcosm of the changing ways and enduring values of rural life in the twenty-first century.
Driving Backwards is a poignant exploration of the vividness of the everyday. Across twenty years of summers, Jessica Lander has come to know Gilmanton and its residents. Valerie, who tends sixtyfive goats,home-schools ten children and crafts artisanal goat cheese. Jim and Cheryl, who raise miniature horses, flocks of chickens and long eared rabbits all on two tiny acres. Duncan, a third generation farmer, who harvests thousands of pound of wild blueberries each year summer. Chuck, who runs a six-generation dairy farm.
Lander's guide is David Bickford—a fireman, carpenter, town selectman and nearly one hundred year old storyteller. Through richly observed portraits and elegant prose Lander elevates the ordinary, and encourages a deeper appreciation for the stories that surrounding us. With grace, humor, affection and insight, Driving Backwards blends three hundred years of colorful history with the contemporary lives, seasonal rhythms and varied landscape of modern small-town America.
Driving Backwards is a poignant exploration of the vividness of the everyday. Across twenty years of summers, Jessica Lander has come to know Gilmanton and its residents. Valerie, who tends sixtyfive goats,home-schools ten children and crafts artisanal goat cheese. Jim and Cheryl, who raise miniature horses, flocks of chickens and long eared rabbits all on two tiny acres. Duncan, a third generation farmer, who harvests thousands of pound of wild blueberries each year summer. Chuck, who runs a six-generation dairy farm.
Lander's guide is David Bickford—a fireman, carpenter, town selectman and nearly one hundred year old storyteller. Through richly observed portraits and elegant prose Lander elevates the ordinary, and encourages a deeper appreciation for the stories that surrounding us. With grace, humor, affection and insight, Driving Backwards blends three hundred years of colorful history with the contemporary lives, seasonal rhythms and varied landscape of modern small-town America.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2014
About the author
Jessica Lander
3 books8 followersJessica Lander is an award-winning teacher, writer and author. She teaches history and civics to recent immigrant students in a Massachusetts public high school and has won numerous awards for her teaching, including being named a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2021, presented by the Varkey Foundation and being named a MA Teacher of the Year Finalist in 2022, presented by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Jessica writes frequently about education policy and teaching. She is the author of Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education, a coauthor of Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher’s Guide to Engaging Families for Student Success and the author of Driving Backwards.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 10, 2015
This is a book about small town life in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. For example, one of the best chapters is about the author learning about milking cows. Two famous people were born there: Herman Webster Mudgett and Grace Metalious.
HERMAN WEBSTER MUDGETT:
Herman Webster Mudgett adopted the alias H. H. Holmes and moved to Chicago where he became a well-to-do doctor. During the course of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, he became America's first serial killer. He never returned to Gilmanton and was executed in Pennsylvania. Read Erik Larson's Devil in the White City to find out more.
GRACE METALIOUS:
She collected stories she heard around town and added some of her own imagination to write Peyton Place. In the 1950s it was a blockbuster novel considered scandalous. Gilmanton does not brag about the book, but the town in Maine where it was filmed still pushes it. The library hid the book. The librarian is afraid it might be stolen and burned.
TITLE OF THE BOOK:
Bet you ten dollars you never knew this fact. The Model T Fords had gas tanks that were gravity fed. Thus if you were low on gas, you had to drive up a hill backwards. Send the ten dollars to me. I accept cash and stamps.
HERMAN WEBSTER MUDGETT:
Herman Webster Mudgett adopted the alias H. H. Holmes and moved to Chicago where he became a well-to-do doctor. During the course of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, he became America's first serial killer. He never returned to Gilmanton and was executed in Pennsylvania. Read Erik Larson's Devil in the White City to find out more.
GRACE METALIOUS:
She collected stories she heard around town and added some of her own imagination to write Peyton Place. In the 1950s it was a blockbuster novel considered scandalous. Gilmanton does not brag about the book, but the town in Maine where it was filmed still pushes it. The library hid the book. The librarian is afraid it might be stolen and burned.
TITLE OF THE BOOK:
Bet you ten dollars you never knew this fact. The Model T Fords had gas tanks that were gravity fed. Thus if you were low on gas, you had to drive up a hill backwards. Send the ten dollars to me. I accept cash and stamps.
June 2, 2014
A fun visit to a New England town
July 19, 2026
Jessica Lander and her family spent summers in Gilmanton NH. In Driving Backwards, she shares stories of the towns histories and inhabitants, past and current. Many of her stories and facts come from amateur historian and active member of the community David Bickford. The stories blend life styles and challenges from throughout the town and it’s history. Gilmanton shares a lot with many small New England towns and it’s unique place as the birthplace of a serial killer (Devil in the White City) and the supposed location of the infamous Peyton Place.
Driving Backwards is a charming reminiscence of a small town, it’s values, and its citizens. Lander describes their lives, interests, livelihoods, history, and celebrations. She shares her experiences learning to milk cows on a dairy farm and perambulating town boundaries following a centuries-old practice. This is a gentle read but stimulating. Highly recommended in a time of total interconnectedness and irritation with one’s fellow humans. Driving Backwards reminds us of lifestyles that offer different choices.
Accompanied by pen and ink illustrations.
Pace: Moderate
Characterization: Likeable, commonsense people of several generations
Identities: Intergenerational New Englanders
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Upbeat
Mood: Thought provoking
Frame: Gilmanton NH; contemporary and historical
Themes: Small town life
Driving Backwards is a charming reminiscence of a small town, it’s values, and its citizens. Lander describes their lives, interests, livelihoods, history, and celebrations. She shares her experiences learning to milk cows on a dairy farm and perambulating town boundaries following a centuries-old practice. This is a gentle read but stimulating. Highly recommended in a time of total interconnectedness and irritation with one’s fellow humans. Driving Backwards reminds us of lifestyles that offer different choices.
Accompanied by pen and ink illustrations.
Pace: Moderate
Characterization: Likeable, commonsense people of several generations
Identities: Intergenerational New Englanders
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Upbeat
Mood: Thought provoking
Frame: Gilmanton NH; contemporary and historical
Themes: Small town life
October 22, 2015
It was an ok book...probably would have liked it more if I was from that area and could relate to places mentioned.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews