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That Hidden Road: A Memoir
On a Wednesday morning in May of 2010, 42-year-old Rocco Versaci dipped the rear tire of his bicycle into the Pacific Ocean and began to pedal, alone, across the country. He had what he thought was a simple idea-to sort out the story of his life, which had taken a couple of unexpected detours in recent years. That Hidden Road is a memoir of the two months he spent crossing the country by bike. It's a story of burning saddle sores, heart-popping climbs, and unleashed dogs with a taste for ankle. It's a story of America's less-traveled roads and the people who live there. And it's a story of rebuilding a life from fragments, the spirit of the whole journey captured in a question most of us ask at one point or another-Can I find my way home? Blending travel writing, memoir, and even comics, That Hidden Road-like Kerouac's On the Road, William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways, and Cheryl Strayed's Wild-is an unforgettable story of being lost and found on the road in America.
358 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2016
About the author
Rocco Versaci
4 books35 followersI'm an English professor at Palomar College, which is near San Diego. Since 1997, I've taught composition, creative writing, and literature (mainly contemporary American & comics/graphic novels). My first book, "This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics as Literature," came out in 2007. I'm also a two-time cancer survivor, and in 2010 I rode my bicycle across the country (San Diego to North Carolina). My second book, "That Hidden Road: A Memoir," won a 2015 San Diego Book Award and is now available from Apprentice House press. The book is about the bike ride, my first bout with cancer, and other parts of my life that made me think it would be a good idea to go on a long bike ride by myself. "That Hidden Road" is now available at http://amzn.to/20XJHRW.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 30, 2016
An original and beautifully written memoir that is also a travelogue of sorts. This book is alive, full of lapidary sentences and observations of the complex and thorny human condition and our country's startling abundance--geographically, socially, experientially. Mr. Versaci is a very gifted writer.
September 11, 2019
As a cyclist, I’ve read several books about riding across the U.S., but this one really surprised me. It is well written and about much more than the cross-country journey. Such a cliche, but I couldn’t put it down once I started reading, and just finished with tears in my eyes. Highly recommend.
February 21, 2021
I love this book. It's an easy book to love. First, the cover is a map of Southern Colorado, where I spent a summer working and falling in love. Second, everyone loves an underdog. Why would a man in his forties suddenly want to bike across the country? I'm not really sure, but I was thoroughly entertained reading about the struggle--and it is a struggle. If you want to know why the book is described as a page-turner, it's because the author teases the reader by withholding key information. I don't want to spoil it, but I will say it's worth the wait.
One thing that is missing from the story is any romance. The reader learns early on that a marriage has ended and new relationship has formed, but that's all you get. I kept waiting for a love story, but I will save you the trouble and tell you that it never comes. I don't read romance novels, but leaving out a love story that I know is there is almost unforgivable. If it were up to me, I would have traded any of the chapters about the people he met along the way for just a few pages of that story, but this isn't my book, so it's fine. I'm over it.
Last thing I want to say is that the last chapter is a bit clunky. Unlike the rest of the book, it seems like the last chapter was hastily written and tacked on at the last minute. But even that can be forgiven since the rest of the book is so beautifully written.
One thing that is missing from the story is any romance. The reader learns early on that a marriage has ended and new relationship has formed, but that's all you get. I kept waiting for a love story, but I will save you the trouble and tell you that it never comes. I don't read romance novels, but leaving out a love story that I know is there is almost unforgivable. If it were up to me, I would have traded any of the chapters about the people he met along the way for just a few pages of that story, but this isn't my book, so it's fine. I'm over it.
Last thing I want to say is that the last chapter is a bit clunky. Unlike the rest of the book, it seems like the last chapter was hastily written and tacked on at the last minute. But even that can be forgiven since the rest of the book is so beautifully written.
October 9, 2016
Once I started Rocco Versaci’s That Hidden Road I couldn’t put it down. He crafts a beautiful of traveling memoir, complete with accompanying comics, that is spit-your-coffee-out-your-nose funny, chock-full of folksy Midwestern wisdom, and achingly poignant. I was moved to tears, and in awe at the delicate way Rocco built the narrative, layering past and present with his own quiet realizations along the way. Filled with dog chases, 1970’s song lyrics, reflections of Catholic Italian family, and keen, very personal insights, That Hidden Road is journey to self that invites the reader to ride along.
October 11, 2016
That Hidden Road is a compelling read. You might want to clear some space on your calendar before picking it up. I learned about the author’s journey across the country in 2010, and followed his blog posts in rapt attention. Each installment was eagerly anticipated as he made his way across the country. The tales were funny, rich with detail and well crafted. They also made a great book. I was drawn in to the author's world because it is believable and intense, comic in the way life usually is, and at turns dramatic and often personal. That Hidden Road is all that and more. I laughed uncontrollably, smiled a lot and at other times felt the pang of acute understanding, grief and sorrow by the stories that unfolded. This book is obviously a labor of love, and like most personal stories hits home on a number of fronts – it’s a story of our humanity, and the bravery and honesty in the telling elevates it.
January 20, 2017
4.5
"Those neat, precise lines [on the timeline] are an illusion; after all, how do we know the people and experiences in our lives were meant to be? Everything might be completely different if only we had stopped for lunch a little later, gone to the post office before the gas station instead of after or woken up ten minutes ealier. It's scary to think we're all subject to chaos, like puzzle pieces dumped on a folding table or like cells multiplying and dividing uncontrollably." If only I had started teaching a few years after 1981, or Rocco Versaci had had Bill Kolek for sophomore Honors English, I might never have read THAT HIDDEN ROAD, and certainly I wouldn't know the author personally, wouldn't have been able to invite him to participate in my book club that read his memoir after it was published in October 2016. But, thankfully, Rocco was my student in Honors II in 1982 and we have remained in contact after he became an English teacher, a film critic, and an author years after his life at Downers Grove South high school. So cool to read a book that a former student and now friend wrote! And it's good, really good. THR combines a number of sub stories (which initially I thought was a bit too ambitious) centering around a two-month west coast to east coast solo bike ride after Rocco beat testicular cancer in 2010. The memoir skillfully weaves the bike trip challenges and interesting characters along the way, with Rocco's cancer story, and interesting stories of his childhood, his parents' history, and his failed marriage and family life with his two sons. He plays with past and present, switches time periods, creates thoughtful juxtaposition and connections, and even includes comic strips that he illustrated called "Voices from the Road" which enables readers to meet more of the people he encountered on his journey in quick, humorous sketches. There were effective uses of metaphor, symbolism and descriptive detail and language in the book, and I liked that it was a combination survival story, adventure story, and travelogue. The women in the book club thoroughly enjoyed it and loved having Rocco as a guest participant. IF Rocco were still a student in my class, I would reward his hard work, terrific writing, and engrossing story with an "A."
"Those neat, precise lines [on the timeline] are an illusion; after all, how do we know the people and experiences in our lives were meant to be? Everything might be completely different if only we had stopped for lunch a little later, gone to the post office before the gas station instead of after or woken up ten minutes ealier. It's scary to think we're all subject to chaos, like puzzle pieces dumped on a folding table or like cells multiplying and dividing uncontrollably." If only I had started teaching a few years after 1981, or Rocco Versaci had had Bill Kolek for sophomore Honors English, I might never have read THAT HIDDEN ROAD, and certainly I wouldn't know the author personally, wouldn't have been able to invite him to participate in my book club that read his memoir after it was published in October 2016. But, thankfully, Rocco was my student in Honors II in 1982 and we have remained in contact after he became an English teacher, a film critic, and an author years after his life at Downers Grove South high school. So cool to read a book that a former student and now friend wrote! And it's good, really good. THR combines a number of sub stories (which initially I thought was a bit too ambitious) centering around a two-month west coast to east coast solo bike ride after Rocco beat testicular cancer in 2010. The memoir skillfully weaves the bike trip challenges and interesting characters along the way, with Rocco's cancer story, and interesting stories of his childhood, his parents' history, and his failed marriage and family life with his two sons. He plays with past and present, switches time periods, creates thoughtful juxtaposition and connections, and even includes comic strips that he illustrated called "Voices from the Road" which enables readers to meet more of the people he encountered on his journey in quick, humorous sketches. There were effective uses of metaphor, symbolism and descriptive detail and language in the book, and I liked that it was a combination survival story, adventure story, and travelogue. The women in the book club thoroughly enjoyed it and loved having Rocco as a guest participant. IF Rocco were still a student in my class, I would reward his hard work, terrific writing, and engrossing story with an "A."
December 10, 2016
This was a wonderful book to read. At times I was literally laughing out loud. At other points I could feel his pain. However there was always hope. It's a story which hits home because it's about a real person living a real life.
The story is an autobiography of a man who, as he rides a bicycle alone across the country, recalls how his life- growing up in a Chicago suburb, marrying young, raising kids, dealing with cancer, then a divorce, and finding a new life- led him down this road
The story is an autobiography of a man who, as he rides a bicycle alone across the country, recalls how his life- growing up in a Chicago suburb, marrying young, raising kids, dealing with cancer, then a divorce, and finding a new life- led him down this road
November 21, 2016
I loved this book! It is a quick read because you will get lost in the vivid description of the people, places, events and musings of the author. Many laugh out loud moments, as well as thought provoking.
February 5, 2017
A cross country bike ride that ended up being so much more. Rocco Versaci's odyssey ended up revealing more than he could have ever realized....
February 9, 2023
Much of the imagery, mishaps, triumphs, good times, bad times, and people described in this vivid memoir are still fresh in my mind, though I finished reading it many months ago. Rocco's voyage is motivated by neither a vision quest nor a bucket list, but rather a compulsion to shake things up. Events seem to unfold unexpectedly: his route, challenges, and encounters with a cast of characters who sustain and propel him across the continent. His narrative chronicles not only the remarkable landscape he rolls through, but also an internal journey with a surprising arc.
November 3, 2016
I read this book the first time without stopping. I could not put it down. Read it a second time, and again, could not put it down. It reminds me of David Sedaris' work in a way - one minute I'm laughing, the next I'm crying. It's a journey across the country, but also across Rocco's life. And it's so beautifully written, I felt transported to all the places he describes, felt I knew the people he met along the way (ok, I do know some of them. Pat, Jan and Bill from the Springview Farm chapter are my brother and parents, respectively; they are exactly as depicted.) Thank you Rocco for sharing the ride!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews