Skippity's book 13: While I'm on a roll here...

Riding the Bus with My Sister is one of those true-life stories about a handicapped person that inevitably make you tear up now and then. It's written by a woman who is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and her writing is really, really good. Her sister Beth is mildly mentally retarded, and to keep herself entertained, she rides the busses of her city every day except Sunday, when they don't run. Rachel, the writer, has totally thrown herself into her career and has become emotionally cold and has no inner life. When Beth invites her to ride the busses with her for a year, Rachel at first doesn't want to, but then relents when she realizes it will at least make for a few good columns. But of course she comes to find that she depends on these rides and on her sister's hidden wisdoms to warm her back up into a live human being again who does more than work herself to death. She gets to know the drivers of the busses and takes notes on the wisdom she inevitably finds in them as well. Sounds trite and like it's been done before, and maybe it has, but there's enough hardness in the book to make you know that it's not all sappy sentimentality. The story of how the girls grew up, along with their brother and other sister, is nothing short of horrifying in some places, and you get a lot more sympathy for both Rachel and Beth when you learn what they've been through that has helped shape them into what they are.
Having worked with handicapped kids for a living, I was able to very easily understand a lot of the frustrations and heartache that Rachel bangs her head and heart against when dealing with Beth and her limitations and obstinancies, and also the overwhelming feelings of joy and unworthiness when small triumphs occur. It's difficult to explain unless you've experienced it.

A good read. It kind of stretches you into a better person.

(I had a lot of time to read in the car and hotel this weekend. Sorry to unload three books all at once.)

*edit: apparently this was made into a movie with Andie MacDowell and Rosie O'Donnell. I'm actually going to check this out. You can also see artwork done by Beth on that site.

Neat.