Synopses & Reviews
In this new contemporary novel, middle-aged Harriet Beamer is forced to leave her home in Philadelphia and move to Grass Valley California because her children decide it's time. But Harriet doesn't take the change lightly and seizes the opportunity to make the journey of her life as she travels from town to town, city to city all the way across the country using nothing but local buses, trains, ferries, trolleys and the occasional hot air balloon, a motorcycle and an Amish buggy. But it is on this journey that Harriet learns that although her family thinks it's time for her to be put out to pasture, God has a different plan.
Synopsis
Aging and recent widow Harriet Beamer insists she's getting along fine with her dog Humphrey in Philadelphia ... until she falls for the fourth time, injuring her ankle, and causing her son and daughter-in-law to cry foul. Insisting Harriet move in with them in California, they make a bet that her ankle is broken, and she foolishly promises to move if they're right. Four x-rays later, Harriet's ankle--and her heart--are broken. She packs up, ships her huge salt and pepper collection to California, and prepares to move away from the only life she knows. The only catch? She's doing it her way. Just wait till her daughter-in-law hears Harriet will travel cross country only by public transportation and alternate means. What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming journey by train, metro bus, ferry, and motorcycle. Along the way, Harriet discovers that although her family thinks it's time for her to be put out to pasture--God has a different plan.