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Book Review of Driving Sideways

Driving Sideways
Driving Sideways
Author: Jess Riley
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
dollycas avatar reviewed on + 648 more book reviews


Dollycas's Thoughts

Why did I wait so lone to read this book? Leigh Fielding lives with her brother and his wife about 30 minutes from where I am sitting. I loved all the local references. Also my mother was on dialysis for some time before she died so those references rang true as well.

Leigh was lucky to receive a kidney transplant and through a mix up the anonymous donation didn't stay so anonymous. Leigh has planned quite a road trip and she has added a stop to visit one of her donor's relatives. She wants to find out what he was like and to thank them for the gift they have given her. Against her brother's wishes Leigh heads west in what turns into a very memorable trip. She gains a passenger along the way, they stop to see the sights, visit her best friend in Colorado, meet up with an old boyfriend, has an interesting stop at the donor's mother's house and then head to California to hopefully reconnect with her mother.

This was Jess Riley's debut novel and it a heartwarming and sometimes a heartbreaking story. It is also full of some laugh out loud and crazy moments. I found it to be very well written with a very balanced pace. Easy to picture all the events as they happened because of the author's descriptive writing style. There was a twist that added just a little suspense too. It was almost a learning experience as Leigh has PKD, polycystic kidney disease. I had heard of this disease but didn't know much about it.

The trip that Leigh calls her Unfinished Business Trip was quite a journey. I am honored to have been able to travel on it right along with her. I loved this story.