First Gear: A Motorcycle Memoir

by Lorrie Jorgensen, Lorrie Potvin

A powerful story of childhood physical, emotional and sexual abuse unrolls as the author, at age 50 and living with Multiple Sclerosis, rides her 2009 Harley-Davidson — named Thelma D. — from Ottawa to Winnipeg and back, with detours to northern Ontario and a detour into Quebec. During her ride through the stunning landscape of the Canadian Shield, she shares stories of her childhood growing up in the 1970s in the Ottawa Valley with her three brothers, a violent father and an alcoholic mother. Told with a frank openness and humour, First Gear is ultimately a story of courage, survival, and recovery.

“A gritty and courageous story of one woman’s journey to make peace with her past. Powerfully written. A compelling read.”

—Helen Numphreys, author of The Evening Chorus

"Told with searing honesty and peppered with vivid imagery, First Gear is a memoir that will leave you marvelling at Lorrie Jorgensen’s intelligence, generosity, and resilience. When I was a teenager, I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and learned much from it. And while Jorgensen’s tale is also a journey by bike, it goes far beyond the philosophical musings in Pirsig’s compelling work – because truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction. Stranger. Fiercer. And ultimately, much more forceful. long after I turned the last page, this memoir has stayed with me. I often find myself musing about Lorrie’s teachings – about family, wisdom, friendship, self-reliance, and survival."

—Rena Upitis, Professor of Arts Education, Queen’s University and President, Wintergreen Studios
"First Gear is the memoir of writer Lorrie Jorgensen and her companion Thema D, a Dyna Super Glide Custom Harley-Davidson. These are their trials together through small town Ontario—it is both bike-lover's journey on asphalt and the three decades long retracing of tough youth spent in the Ottawa Valley. This is a fighter's tale of survival against abuse, her debilitating muscular disease, addiction and depression. First Gear is studded with good humour, kindness, and remarkable resilience. Readers will cheer Jorgensen on and laugh out loud. She finds love, reclaims her integrity and discovers a disconcerting truth that is both unexpected and painful. You will marvel at the crisp lucid language and—above all—the honesty of this document of persistence, and the courage it took to write it down."

—Robin Collins

"This is a book about courage, about rising above circumstance and claiming your life as your own. First Gear is a first rate memoir about confronting the demons of the past and dealing with the vicissitudes of the present. At times, while reading the book, I wanted to rush in somehow and stop Lorrie from having to experience the nightmares that no one should have to go through. I really felt as if I got to know Lorrie, her wry humour, her skillful story telling and, as the story unfolded, so equally rose my respect and admiration. An inspiring read that tells you in no uncertain terms that it’s never too late to take charge of your life and travel down the road that you want to."

— Lisa de Nikolits, author of A Glittering Chaos, The Witchdoctor's Bones, and Between the Cracks She Fell

Genres: Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Lisa Nikolits · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about courage, about rising above circumstance and claiming your life as your own.
First Gear is a first rate memoir about confronting the demons of the past and dealing with the vicissitudes of the present.
At times, while reading the book, I wanted to rush in somehow and stop Lorrie from having to experience the nightmares that no one should have to go through. I really felt as if I got to know Lorrie, her wry humour, her skillful story telling and, as the story unfolded, so equally rose my respect and admiration.
An inspiring read that tells you in no uncertain terms that it’s never too late to take charge of your life and travel down the road that you want to.

[Louise Blais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing memoir written with heartfelt emotions. Lorrie has certainly been a passenger on the emotional roller coaster of life !!! I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to connect with inner emotions and people who want to understand the true feelings and uncertainty that victims of pedophiles experience and have to deal with. The inner turmoil that this author has experienced will blow your mind away. Knowing Lorrie personally all I can say is "you have come out the winner, you have travelled many many miles, on Thelma D and especially many miles in making sure that today you know yourself better and you have come ahead of where you were. There is only one direction for you Lorrie, and that is up !!!!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating tale, a true one, about Lorrie Jorgensen battling against more than many of us will ever know. But she succeeds, remarkably, and motors on (by bike and in life), to hell with the odds. Truly inspiring, wildly funny in parts, this is a travel memoir, a triumph against adversity story, through physical and social pressures, out of sexual abuse. She takes us down the road, with an unexpected twist at the end that makes you think there may be a part 2 in the offing. For the love of the outdoors, the open road, the Ottawa Valley, joy of life, for the biking lore, and the engine rumbling and grumbling between your thighs, read this.

[Evelyn Gigantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very fine book. The story is gripping and told with a lyrical style. I raced to finish it and have bought several copies for friends.