Well written and interesting. Kept me interested to find out what happened next

The Drive is a road trip tale, as the title suggests. As a child, Teresa’s father had packed up the family and driven to South America in a dilapidated camper van after the death of his toddler son. Now Teresa wants to retrace those steps with her husband to find the camper and be at peace with the death of her brother. 

I love road trips and enjoy a well-told travel book. This was a great account of the journey: the writing flowed and I was engaged in their progress. I appreciate that there wasn’t too much detail and was interested in learning about the places they visited. It was just the right tone to allow for some travel daydreaming, which is always a good thing.

I think there should have been more details of the trip her family took as a child, instead of little snippets from her mom’s journal. The previous trip had not really been a road trip, but a long and complicated journey to a potential new life in South America. Along the way were accidents, illnesses, and young children growing up in alien environments, and I think this should have been stressed instead of just launching into the story like it was an extended road trip. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys travel writing, as it’s a realistic look at driving the Pan American highway, and a unique take from an author who did the same trip, decades apart. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

“It isn’t practical, my quest to find my rolling childhood home and say a thirty-years-too-late goodbye to a four-year-old-boy.”

This is a memoir of Teresa Bruce who travels the Pan-American Highway in an avion camper with her husband Gary shortly after marriage.  This trip mirrors the trip that Teresa went on as a young girl in 1974 with her parents and her sister 2 years after the death of her younger brother.  The ultimate goal of the trip is to find the camper that her family had travelled in and eventually sold before heading home.   Ulterior motives include recollecting memories, exploring South America, reconnecting with people whose paths they crossed 30 years prior, understanding her parents better, and coming to terms with her brother’s death.  She seems particularly interested in learning about her parents’ motives and grieving process during this journey.  She does not recollect her parents talking about the death of her brother or even mentioning his name.  It is obvious when meeting people along this journey that her mother spoke to others very much about her dead brother, a realization that surprises the author.

To me, this journey felt very foolish.  Both trips contained near death experiences.  The travelers were pitted against corrupt police demanding bribes.  The travelers made poor choices.  For instance, Teresa brings a gun along, which haunts her the entire trip. They are continuously embarrassed by their apparent flaunting of wealth in their Avion with American plates as they drive through poverty stricken regions.  The writing is disjointed, the characters are coming undone…  So, for me, it was a tedious unenjoyable read.

The journey begins after a visit to Teresa’s home and parents.  What I couldn’t understand was why Teresa never engaged her parents in conversation about the past rather than decide to relive this journey, that for her, didn’t seem enjoyable the first time.  I took a chance on this book from netgalley knowing that I needed to read a travel memoir as part of the BookRiot 2017 reading challenge.  I almost gave up so many times.  I’m surprised that I actually read to the end.  The writing felt disjointed.  It read like diary entries that had been slightly reworked with some facts and tidbits thrown in about the history & geography of the area that didn’t necessary fit with the driving themes of the book.

The armchair travel aspect of this title caused me to request an ARC. As much as I love a road trip this is a journey I'll never make. I tagged along on the author's incredible journey through her detailed and intriguing descriptions of regions and events. I gained considerable knowledge by the time "we" completed "The Drive" - from border crossings and indigenous peoples to mud, sunny beaches and friendships forged thirty years ago. 

As a girl of seven Bruce made a similar journey with her parents in a homemade camper. I found the comparison of the 21st-century trip and the notes from her mother's diary of interest; plus, the contacts she made with people met during the earlier journey evoking memories most dear from both sides. 

The original journey was a family escape from the tragedy of the death of the author's two-year-old brother. I understand an adult's desire to retrace childhood experiences and memories. However, I never completely understood how that retracing in search of the homemade camper was to bring closure or perception to the grief. Perhaps this only reflects on the fact that I have not had to face such tragic memories.

Thanks to Seal Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I like to read memoirs about people living in places I’ve never been to.  When I saw this book about a couple who decide to travel the same route her  parents took through  Mexico and onto the Pan American Highway, 30 years in the past, I was intrigued.

I found the book very sad at times, because the entire family undertook the journey in 1973 after the youngest member of the family was killed in an accident. Throughout the book, Teresa mentions him. This time, Teresa’s aging dog also adds a degree of both delight and sadness to the story. 

I enjoyed reading about their adventures, the people they met along the way and the scenery. Teresa does a very nice job of adding the little details that helped me visualize much of the book. She doesn’t hold back on some of the more frightening encounters they have on the way, and times when they would both decide that they needed to go another way because the path they were on didn’t feel safe.

While I wouldn’t want to try this myself, I did enjoy reading the book, and I recommend it to other armchair travelers.

I really struggled with this book. I was confused at times if the Author was telling the current storyline or the flashback storyline.

The authors parents in the early 70's decided to drive a home made camper, the length of the Pan American-Highway, through Mexico, Central and South America after a tragedy where they lost their young son John-John in an accident. They take off with their two young daughters on a thought out but not well planned trip. After reaching Bolivia and having had many breakdowns and lots of adventures on the way, they finally let go of their camper and move on. 
Now some 30 years later, one of the daughters, Teresa and her new husband, Gary decide to quite their well paying  jobs and retrace her parents trip down the Pan-American Hwy in search of her old home, (her dads homemade camper). Armed with her moms old journals a camper of their own and a 17 yr old dog, they head out on their own adventure, wanting to feel what propelled her parents after their tragedy, but also wanting to put that tragedy (John-John's death) to some closure for herself.
I love to read about peoples travels through Latin America and to see their reactions to places and situation, remote from their own. Having lived a large portion of my life in Central America, I can often  relate to the reactions or even some of the places I am familiar with. 
For me this was a very fun read, which took me right from my chair into their camper, what a ride.
Beautifully written, and this book will have some photos, once published. You can also see them and her parents trip on her website.
I want to thank NetGalley, and Seal Press for the ARC of this book.

Love the cover,love the book,very well written,I felt sorry for her but glad followed her parents footsteps,around America in the camper.it sounded good,but scary as well,good book I enjoyed it.