The sun was shining. I had no desire to attend to any of the many responsibilities that called to me. What to do? In the autumn and winter, the sun shines in the south-facing kitchen window, making the kitchen table my favorite place to sit. I consumed Beverly Donofrio’s Riding in Cars with Boys in an afternoon sitting in the Fall sunshine.
Although I had seen the 2001 film, I didn’t remember anything about it so my reading experience wasn’t colored by the movie.
The story is an autobiography of Donofrio’s teen pregnancy and live stemming from that event. She lived in an awful apartment, married a druggie, got in trouble with the law and tried to find her way out of the mess of a life she made for herself. She manages to go to community college, transfer and graduate. All the while, her child grows and flourishes despite his mother.
Sitting in my sun spot, my life looked pretty cushy in comparison to the path that Donofrio’s life took. The story made a great case for birth control.
