Play Book Tag discussion

Driving Miss Norma – Tim Bauerschmidt & Ramie Liddle
Digital audiobook narrated by Christopher Grove and Nan McNamara
4****

Subtitle: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living
Alternate subtitle: : An Inspirational Story About What Really Matters at the End of Life

When his mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer at age 90, Tim Bauerschmidt and his wife had some decisions to make. They had been living “on the road” for a few years already and had returned to his childhood home when his father passed away. But now he couldn’t leave his mother alone with this devastating illness. Norma decided she did NOT want to live her last months “sick” … and even sicker from the recommended treatment. She also didn’t want to be in a hospital or nursing home setting. So, she decided to go along with Tim and Ramie as they travelled the USA. This is a memoir of that year on the road.

Make no mistake, this was not an easy decision to make, and it took time, effort, resources and planning. But they were lucky, too. After posting about their journey on Facebook, and some friends sharing the posts, they had over 500 followers. Ramie then sent an email to the Good News Network to see if they’d like to do a feature article, and the network agreed, posting their “Driving Miss Norma” episode. In a day, their likes had jumped to 1,800 and they’d been contacted by CBS Evening News asking to do a feature story. Within a week they had 91,000 (!) likes. And offers of unique experiences came rolling in.

The lesson here, though, is all about Norma’s (and Tim’s & Ramie’s) reactions to all these opportunities. They embraced living. They said “yes” to most every offer. They set aside fears and “what ifs,” choosing instead to go with the flow and just enjoy the experience.

It’s a fine memoir and inspired this reader to be more open to life’s journey.

The audiobook is narrated by Christopher Grove and Nan McNamara, voicing Tim and Ramie’s chapters respectively. Having two narrators made it very clear which was writing which sections.


LINK to my review