Hack: How I Stopped Worrying About What to Do with My Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab

by Melissa Plaut

“I had always thought about driving a cab, just thought it’d be interesting and different, a good way to make money. But it always seemed like a fleeting whim, a funny idea, something I would never actually do.”In her late twenties and after a series of unsatisfying office jobs, Melissa Plaut decided she was going to stop worrying about what to do with the rest of her life and focus on what she was going to do next. Her first becoming a taxi driver. Undeterred by the fact that 99 percent of cabbies in the city were men, she went to taxi school, got her hack license, and hit the streets of Manhattan and the outlying boroughs.Hack traces Plaut’s first two years behind the wheel of a yellow cab traveling the 6,400 miles of New York City streets. She shares the highs, the lows, the shortcuts, and professional trade secrets. Between figuring out where and when to take a bathroom break and trying to avoid run-ins with the NYPD, Plaut became an honorary member of a diverse brotherhood that included Harvey, the cross-dressing cabbie; the dispatcher affectionately called “Paul the crazy Romanian”; and Lenny, the garage owner rumored to be the real-life prototype for TV’s Louie De Palma of Taxi.With wicked wit and arresting insight, Melissa Plaut reveals the crazy parade of humanity that passed through her cab–including struggling actors, federal judges, bartenders, strippers, and drug dealers–while showing how this grueling work provided her with empowerment and a greater sense of self. Hack introduces an irresistible new voice that is much like New York itself–vivid, profane, lyrical, and ineffably hip

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Humor, New York, Transport

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[thefourthvine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone needs to write a book called How to Turn Your Blog into a Real Book, because a lot of the people who get blog-to-book contracts just...can't. Which is not really surprising, and yet. It's sad to read a book and think, "Huh. This would be better as a blog. Oh, wait." Obviously, that's what happened here. This book has all the usual blog-to-book flaws - it's structureless and vaguely empty, without much focus or discussion of events.

Plaut kind of wanders between the chronological structure that probably made sense to her because that's how the blog worked and some thematic groupings of stories sort of at random. In other words, this has structure only in the sense that it has chapters.

There's also not quite enough material here for a book - again, super common in blogs-to-books. She doesn't really relate anything she discusses to larger issues, which is optional in real books but often rather nice, especially if there's not enough story to go around. And Plaut can't quite decide whether or not she should include discussion of her non-cab-driving personal life, so she sometimes does and sometimes does not. The result is that I, at least, ended up knowing too little to care about her personal life and yet way more than I wanted to.

But my biggest problem was that I finished this and wished I'd read it in small chunks in Google Reader, where I would really have enjoyed it. As it was, it was just a null reading experience: not pleasant, not unpleasant, just something to kill time with while nursing. Not every blog should be a book. This one, even though it's a great idea, shouldn't have been.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short: Don't buy, borrow. This a library read.

In long: This memoir reveals issues of prejudices and stereotypes typical in most any service industry job. It's unique in that it gives more intimate portrayals of New York City neuroses than most books (say, by bartenders) due to the added tension of being locked in a cab with the nutjobs and vulnerable to their whims.

The author is a likable person & has a voice that will appeal to the well-educated liberal-arts set. She's analytical, as best revealed by her notes on the effects of the cabdriving on her body and psyche. As she learns, we learn too precisely how the taxicab fits into the contextual map of the metropolis.

But, after the first 100 pages, it gets repetitive. I began to feel as though I were the passenger stuck in the cab with a chatty, miserable driver, when I'd really like to just get there. It needs some more tweaks, a stronger editorial hand, and - sadly- a point.

Though at first I liked her, by the end I was tired of her and her whining about how she dislikes cabdriving. I just wanted her to stop the indecision and complaining, and get on with it, (or get out of it).

I am interested to see her blog. I have a feeling it must be better. And, had this book been a collection of pointed essays, it would have been more successful.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 29, Melissa has been in and out of half a dozen office jobs, and she's sick of them, and sick of trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. And so she decides to take a step towards adventure, and applies for a license to drive a yellow cab in New York City.

Hack is full of stories about what it's like to drive a cab. Both stories about crazy passengers, other cabbies, and what it's physically like to go through twelve-hour cab shifts. Hack is lively and compulsively readable.

Hack is fascinating because Melissa is a 29-year-old English-speaking white woman driving a cab, but it's also just fascinating because she's driving a cab. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's wondered what that must be like.

And Melissa tells all--the good, the bad, the ugly, the crazy, the wonderful.

It's a great read.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read (if you go straight through instead of reading a few chapters here and there between other books). I picked it up because I'm writing a novel about a NY cab driver and figured I shouldn't get ALL my insights from old episodes of TAXI. 😁

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next time I'm annoyed by a rude driver or am stuck in a traffic jam I'll remember how grateful I am that I don't have to earn my living as a cab driver, particularly in New York City. I certainly don't envy Plaut, but I definitely gained a whole new respect for these brave road warriors. It's no wonder her blog had so many hits. Melissa Plaut's book is full of interesting stories.

[Armando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Around the Globe in 52 Books (10/52)
[Prompt: A Book Set Primarily in a Large City on Earth]

This was a re-read for me, and my original thoughts on the book was that it was a great read, a good collection of interesting stories and some really great imagery. But I didn't connect to the author in the way I thought. And at the time, I just felt like the writing felt a little flat to me.

Well I'm not sure what's so different this time around, perhaps its having more years of delivery driving under my belt, or perhaps its just being around the same age when Melissa was facing her own existential life crisis, that I ended up so deeply connecting to the author and her story. I absolutely connected to her feeling of being lost, of not being able to find 'her thing', of being non-committal to her goals, of feeling like everyone else her age is succeeding but not her, and essentially just being a head case. This story touched me deeper than it did originally, and particularly Melissa's own journey and how she captured that in her own unique writing style.

Spawned from the desire to have an 'adventure', Melissa applies to become a Hack driver in her late twenties. She goes through cab school, gets her Hack License, and eventually applies/begins working at her first garage as a Cab Driver. She captures what its like to be a woman working in an industry dominated by men, capturing the highlights and lowlights, in both humorous but also bleak ways. She doesn't shy away from sharing the more disturbing, vulgar incidents of how her customers have treated her, showing the many prejudices that face women in her industry, and showing some of the major flaws of the city with its overworked cab industry and at times, less than stellar police officers who find more time to scream and cuss at her than to actually fight crime. At times Melissa can come off as cynical, or perhaps even just overly emotional, but its hard for anyone who has worked even a few weeks in the service industry, to not feel sympathetic towards her cause. What she deals with on a daily basis, from the long hours to the entitled rude customers, is the woe of many frontline/blue collar workers today.

However there are also many nuggets, and many shiny moments, of the pure magic of working in an industry like that. From the many interesting individuals, crazy stories, as well as the personal people who touched her life or inspired her, there are plenty of stories here that will make you want to move to New York to become a cab driver yourself. But most especially, Melissa does a great job of showing what great and interesting people she works at in her garage (most notably Helen), and shows the true comradery, that special kind, that you often get working a shitty job.

I picked this book up again to read because I enjoyed it mildly the first time, but man did I love it the second time. This has definitely earned a spot on my shelf for sure.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less than 1% of NY City cab drivers are women, and Melissa Plaut is one of them. If you are not disturbed by salty language, you may enjoy this book. The many tales of angry city drivers are hilario.us. Her first encounter with one of NY City’s Finest is an expletive filled tirade which is beyond description. The night shift proves to be an adventure of drunken passengers who sometimes vomit onto the back seat of the taxi. The NYPD traffic cops are a bigger headache than troublesome passengers. One of the worst parts of the job is the need to use a bathroom. I experienced a similar dilemma as Melissa while driving a car for a dealership. I found myself stuck on the Van Wyck for an hour with an overwhelming need to urinate. The door of a Honda Accord was my privacy barrier and the asphalt of the expressway my “toilet.” I felt her pain. She despises drivers of Mercedes SUV’s. I would add BMW and Lexus SUV’s. We share an equal disdain for Wall Street ass*****. A good number of Melissa’s passengers are either insane, drunk, or both. Location, location, location are three words of real estate. Traffic, traffic, and more traffic can be applied to taxi driving in NY City. Melissa’s journey is a fascinating one and Hack is a great read

[Lizz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished this in less than 2 days. Some of the taxi stories are funny. As a result of reading this, I will continue to be nice to taxi drivers and tip well. It's a hard living. The book was divided in chapters but the chapters didn't need to be there. It was like the publisher said "Oh another 25 pages have past, let's put a B&W photo of from your taxi and a Number." They weren't defined very well. I found myself skipping over paragraphs because the stories seemed to be so similar. She probably needed to drive a taxi for another 2-3 years to get enough substance for the book. I also don't think she "stopped worrying about what to do wither her life" as the title states since all she really highlights is how lost she is in the world. I was also annoyed that she never mentions her goal of being a writer in the book - not a single time. This is the 3rd book I've read by a blogger turned book writer. All three I failed to like.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really a collection of short glimpses into the experiences of driving a cab in New York City. For me it was one of those quick reads between other books. To the extent one driver's experience captures anything about an industry it is interesting enough for a quick view of what goes on in the cab.

As a book, the material could do with better organization and is lacking something to pull everything together. Still I don't think the author makes any pretenses about what this is and isn't and enough of the stories related are entertaining to make the book worth a read if the subject interests you.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book gives great insight into what being a New York City cab driver is about. There are things most of us don't know about the taxi industry, such as the fact that there are huge holding pens for cabs at the airports where cabbies often have to wait an hour or more to get a fare back to Manhattan (then why are the lines at the taxi stand so long?).
Melissa Plaut's narrative is informative, intriguing and utterly interesting from start to finish.

[Kathrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an ex-yellow cabbie myself, young white female, this is a pretty honest and humorous account. But cabbies grow quickly tired of cabbie anecdotes. I'm mostly reading it because I already know it (albeit a tamer Midwestern version), not because it's taking me anywhere new. Kudos to the author for getting it down on paper.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This chick is a lot tougher than me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. Good conversational tone. Real, unlike reality tv where people act for the camera. I wish her well with her next adventure.

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember if someone recommended this to me, or I stumbled on it with the NYC hook. It had been on Mt. TBR forever and then ever after I found it as a Kindle deal it took me a while to decide to read it... and then I finished it in less than a week! I'm also fairly sure I didn't know until I started reading this that the author was from Rockland. Like one of her passengers, there's a not impossible chance that I know her, although the name isn't ringing a bell.

Plaut is a few years older than I am, and this book is older than that still with Hurricane Katrina and the MTA strike prominent newsworthy moments in her ~ two year career as a nearly full time NYC cabbie. Unlike many books which grow out of blogs, this book was edited together really well into a cohesive story that covered the two years from when she got her hack license to when her accident settlement check came through and she could afford to work less-for her physical and mental wellbeing. I was sad to find that her blog hasn't been updated in nearly ten years despite her keeping her license active and I found myself wondering where she is today.

While I liked her crazy stories of passengers, from cheapskates to strippers who tip well, what I really liked were the people she worked with, from Paul to Rodrigo from Daniel to Helen. I found the story of Helen particularly compelling and I hope they got their final get together as was alluded to as she wrapped the book.

NYC taxi life has changed with the advent of Uber/Lyft/etc. but this was a great read of the other sides to it you don't typically see, and a NYC that isn't fully still here.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like books that show me a world I've never seen. This book did that. The life of a taxi driver is interesting to read about, even though I can see where it would be super stressful and monotonous to actually live. I would have liked to see more direction in the resolution, rather than just "eh, I'm about done driving a taxi but I'll probably always do it a little. Meanwhile, I don't really know what I'm doing next." But still an enjoyable book. I wonder what the author is doing now.

[Tavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the cover of my paperback version; Goodreads does not seem to have it on file for a non-ebook or be prepared to allow me to fix it. In any case, don't let the time- or scene-shifts buck you off this one; it's a terrific amazing story, and rewards a re-read.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this. So funny. So New York.

[Alice Chau-Ginguene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting to give insight on how taxi industry works. Easy read. Highly recommended.

[Emily Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that got me into autobiographies. It's just so good.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the age of twenty-nine, Melissa Plaut was let go from her job at an ad agency. She found the layoff liberating instead of terrifying, freeing her as it did from a safe but utterly meaningless job where she felt distinctly like a sell-out. Having spent most of her twenties spinning her wheels at one safe job or another, she opted this time to pursue adventure. So it was that she braved the labyrinth of New York bureaucracy and the warren of traffic to become a New York City cabbie.Hack collects stories from her blog about working the city streets, and as they are arranged she becomes progressively more miserable, eventually downshifting to the point that driving the cab is a part-time hobby instead of a career.

Although her stories behind the wheel constitute the bulk of the book (the exception being frequent breaks to chat about her social life) there is not a lot of revealed about the inner workings of taxi services in general. A combination of customer service, chronic traffic jams, and steady physical deterioration, taxi driving quickly loses its allure and becomes a daily grind for her. Working with the public at large is not for the faint of heart, and quickly takes an emotional toll on Plaut as she endures all kinds of abuse and contempt from her patronage. Soon she is bypassing types (teenagers and grizzly men) who she suspects will be fare-jumpers or trouble-makers, and feeling guilty for not being as trusting and open as she once was. Driving a cab for twelve hours a day also wrecks her physically; the human body was not meant to spend half its time sitting in an odd-shaped seat, one leg constantly working the gas or brakes and the rest comparatively inactive while the driver deals with the constant stress of traffic, hunting fares, and restraining her bladder. One of Melissa's coworkers routinely soils himself, his continence wrecked by years of trying to hold it until demand slowed down. Being the result of only a year or so behind the wheel, not much is said about the taxi industry in general: readers get a feel for how her particular company's practices work, but that's about it. There are moments of broader import, as when she weighs whether or not to make the most of a transit strike; ultimately, sheer fatigue at trying to work at all overwhelms any thoughtfulness. Most of the book consists of stories about abusive customers, pushy cops, and her social life, rendered with ample vulgarity. As one takes in her growing frustration -- and her inability to find anything outside of work that will meet her needs for meaning or happiness -- sympathy grows, especially when she witnesses a brutal traffic accident that reminds her all too much of her own near-miss, when a car struck her as a pedestrian and she was hospitalized.

Hack is interesting, though often ugly and not particularly useful about learning the ins and outs of the taxi service. It is good exposure to the raw experiences of drivers, especially New York cabbies who find the city government nearly as hostile to them as the public.

[Maggie]

"He informed us that there were 31 water crossings, 138 landmarks, 6,400 miles of streets, 11,107 street names in NYC. And we were going to have to learn as much of them as we could for the test. He also told us that the reason cabs were yellow was because the cones of the human eye see that color first."
TLC: NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission
"What's the best route to Shea Stadium from city hall? Where is the Sheraton Manhattan Hotel located? Which Central Park transverse is nearest to the children's zoo? Which diagonal thoroughfare connects Bensonhurst with Brownsville."
"...trip sheet...urban legend about the FBI tailing a suspect from Kennedy airport. The story that the guy got into a yellow cab and the feds lost him in traffic on the highway..cab's medallion number...traced it back to the its garage...destination..learned where the suspect had been dropped off." "Most cabbies, however, believe the trip sheet is there to provide the TLC with yet another reason to ticket them."
"I put my politics aside and took it. In my tax bracket, money trumped convictions."
"The story went that two guys approached the driver on an unlit street and asked him for directions. When he stopped to help them, they pulled out a knife, stabbed him, and took all his cash."
Never admit to having a good night.
"After each shift...I'd just scrub the hell out of my hands ... the dirt that accumulates from handling money all night..."
"I started to feel haunted by the city, by the job, and more than anything else, by my own lack of control. The close calls were closing in ... I decided that I had some form of PTSD."
"Cabbies already had a reputation for being heartless money-hungry rip-off artists...sometimes it simply consisted of returning a found phone, or tuning in lost luggage, or giving a ride to someone who really needed it. .."
"Halfway down the block, I started sobbing. I hit my off-duty light, locked my doors, and let it all out. I turned down second avenue and pulled over again. Leaning my head forward on the steering wheel, I whispered out loud to myself, 'I can't do this anymore.'"
"Even now, whenever I'm not working, I'm still obsessed with the streets, listening to the traffic report on the radio at home and watching the cabs in action, when I"m walking around the city....feeling proud and happy when I observe the business is good...streets under my skin..."
"Look who it is! Welcome back from Iraq!"
"...since car-service drivers had a reputation among yellow cabbies for drinking on the job, as well as for being crappy, slow, unprofessional drivers....for-hire...were supposed to respond only to dispatched radio calls...rivalry...they were legally barred from picking up street hails."
The fare.

[Cassy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually ended up loving Hack Plaut is witty and honest, two things that don't necessarily go hand in hand. My impressions of the book going in was that it would be a collection of the stories she accumulated while on the job. While there were plenty of outrageous stories, there was also a lot of self-reflection. She talks about how, after getting over the initial excitement, the anger she felt from the job would overflow into her everyday life. It was hard to keep that rage in check. The smallest things would trigger her into a fight.

She also talked about the ill treatment of cabbies. Like anything else, most cab drivers are good people and good drivers. It's just the few that gives the whole a bad name. Because of that, Cab drivers are targeted by passengers, cops, other drivers and just about everyone else in NYC. She would get three tickets to anyone else's one.

I also loved reading about NYC and it's people. I don't know if it was just the native New Yorker in me but as outrageous as some of the stuff was, it didn't surprise me. She also mentions that on the first day of the NYC transit strike, there was a feeling of coming together between people in the city. People were more understanding, more cooperative, and were generally supportive of the Taxi drivers in the area because it was a hard few days on everyone. I literally got a warm feeling, smiled and then became incredibly homesick. NYC, despite it's rough and selfish nature, really knows how to pull through when it counts and I think there are few places that can simultaneously pull those two traits off. It made me remember, and insanely miss, that feeling and a place that I love.

Plaut also showed how she changed through her experiences. I, as the reader, could easily see how she had changed in just the short year that she covers in the book and it was fascinating to watch that change happen. Her circumstances have changed little from the beginning of the book to the end (she's still driving a taxi, though less hours than she had been previously and she still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life) but she changed so much it was amazing. Her patience and tolerance grew, along with her view on life.

[Sjo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title says it all: "How I Stopped Worrying About What to do with my Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab." This book is written with an eye toward the Village Voice narcisist, fully emboldened and re-energized by the thought of a transition to a career in simplistic slumming (is the sequel going to focus on her experience at McDonalds?).

Melissa Plaut commits the worst crime--she pursues a taxi driver career, not for pursuit of simplicity or adventure, but so she can write about it as if she had. Somewhere after the reader invests themself in the book, it's revealed she drives a cab a couple times a week...maybe enough to keep the hack license, but hardly enough to support her NY lifestyle, and to provide a true understanding what it's like to drive your taxi like your life depends on it...which is what real taxi drivers have to do.....so she's peddling farce.

She force feeds the reader with hanging chads of personal relationships that have nothing to do with the general story (so we understand she likes girls, and girl relationships are complicated--as if any kind of relationships aren't).

One idiot reviewer Wendy McClure's comment says it all: "forget the Peace Corps....". Thank you Wendy.

[Dave]

Hack provides a painfully honest, unfiltered look in to Melissa's life as a female NYC cab driver. It allows us in to see a very frank view of her life both in and out of the cab, and how the two worlds influence each other and occasionally collide.

The stories are entertaining at first, but get more depressed (not depressing) and unorganized as time goes on. You can follow her growth as a person, but only because she is so openly brutal to herself. The narrative you'd expect from a book isn't there, and when you are carried along it is by the raw emotion that she lays out on the page. The stories are unpolished, and even the characters that she most identifies with and calls out as the main supporting cast lack any real depth. However, despite her continually trying to cast herself as something other than the hero, you want her to succeed and (unless you have never experienced anything resembling a period of self doubt) you will be able to identify with her struggles regardless of your background.

You're not reading a book about a cabbie in New York. This is not Taxi Cab Confessions. This is a bitterly truthful story about not being able to find your way through life; about not being happy where you are but having no idea where to go.

[eRin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melissa Plaut has been working one boring office job after another, and when she gets laid off from one she decides to actually go forward and seek adventure by driving a yellow cab in NYC. In Hack, Plaut takes us along her journey, from the endless application paperwork process, to the crazy instructor Frank, then to the streets of New York and all that they hold. She describes her most unusual passengers and crazy stories from other drivers. All along, she tries to find herself.

I really liked this. It seemed intriguing to me, but I wasn't sure if it would translate well. It did very well. Plaut is a good writer and storyteller--she kept the book moving quickly and I didn't get bored. The stories were definitely interesting and provided an interesting look into people in general. It was a little uncomfortable to read about her indecision considering her future--something I've always struggled with; and it hit a little too close to home for my own liking. Otherwise a good read and an interesting story.

[Asmaâ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: goo.gl/4JyQ3Z
Melissa relates here the perilous journey of a yellow-cab driver. I mean, driving a taxi may not be one of the simplest jobs as it may seem. It's not like in Crazy Taxi 3 where you would drop people off after you've caused a huge mess on the road, bumped into whichever solid or moving object that has gotten in your way, arrive late to destination and still get huge tips. No,it's way far from that. Driving a cab in NYC city is a synonym of being verbally assaulted and humiliated by the obnoxious cops as well as pedestrians, fearing muggers and hoodlums, dealing with the fare-beaters and the drunkards, etc.
This book was so nice and chilling at the beginning but that was just it. It has gotten boring in the middle but it's still one that is meant to be a fun-read though, so no regrets.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I learned from this book? I learned that it mostly sucks to be a cab driver--which didn't come as much of a surprise. I learned that there are almost NO female cabdrivers. I learned that you can enjoy a book while knowing that it will most likely leave no lasting impression on you.

"Hack" is less thoughtful than the subtitle would have you think, but it doesn't necessarily suffer for it. Plaut never touches on more than the surface of WHY she ended up in a cab, but after more than my share of overly self-analytical tomes, that was okay by me. Instead, I sat back and enjoyed what amounts to a short collection of taxi tales, none overly shocking or overly engrossing, but all pleasantly interesting--and ultimately forgettable.

[Danadoodle · Rating 2 out of 5]

i came across this one lone copy at the bargain shelf at barnes and noble, and it was calling to me because i've been thinking of working as a cabbie to make money, set my own schedule, and get out of the house and see the world a little bit. this book made it seem very doable.

it was a fast read even though it wasn't as heart-stopping as its claimed. it was written simply and straight-foward. the drama wasn't there, and kind of ordinary day-to-day for new york. the weekend drunks, some creepy neighborhoods, would-be passengers to avoid. but you got some basics of how to go about becoming a cab driver and working as one, and it doesn't seem from this book as daunting or crazy as those profess.

[Rubenesque · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "blog-to-book" trend is getting out of hand! The concept behind this memoir of driving a cab in NYC sounded so promising, but falls short in the execution. The series of stories seem disjointed and few of them are memorable once you've closed the book. Some "blog-to-book" projects are able to retain their casual style of writing with out seeming amateurish ("Julie & Julia" for example), but "Hack" hasn't translated as well. Plaut's writing is frequently clumsy and reuses the same adjectives until they lose all meaning. How many times can she describe her job as "crazy?" With better editing (and a decent thesaurus) it could have been a really good book.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book began as a blog and sounds like one. I'm sure it was a fun blog to read, but in book form the story is shapeless and the writing isn't up to par. Granted, it would be hard to give shape to a series of anecdotes about driving a cab in any case, but the woman who wrote it has difficulty with direction and structure in her life, and it shows in the book. Also, she tries to be "brutally honest" about her anger issues and she just doesn't get me to empathize. She comes off as a real prick much of the time, and it is embarrassing to hear her bloggy half-justifications over and over. I did learn about the LaGuardia cab waiting lot, which is cool.