Riding The Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon S/C

The author's sister Beth, who has mental retardation, spends her days riding the

buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers are her mentors; her fellow passengers

are...

When an all-work-and-no-play novelist agrees to spend significant time riding the bus with her mentally retarded sister, she learns more than the bus route.

Publisher's Note

Rachel Simon's sister Beth is a spirited woman who lives intensely and often joyfully, despite her mental retardation. Beth spends her days riding the buses

in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. One day, Beth asked Rachel to accompany

her on the buses for an entire year; the book is the chronicle of that remarkable time. Rachel, a writer and a college teacher whose hyperbusy life camouflaged her emotional isolation, had much to learn in her sister's extraordinary world. Here are life lessons from which every reader can profit: how to live in the moment, how to pay attention to what really matters, how to change, how to love--and how to slow down and enjoy the ride.

Simon elegantly braids together riveting memories of terrifying maternal abandomnemt, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness. She brings to light the almost invisible world of mental retardation, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and portrays her very special sister Beth as the endearing and indomitable person she is. This heartwarming book takes the reader on an inspirational journey, at once unique and universal.