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WORK TITLE: Driving Miss Norma
WORK NOTES: with husband, Tim Bauerschmidt
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Bauerschmidt/e/B01MUQWU1C * https://www.harpercollins.com/cr-124592/tim-bauerschmidt * http://www.npr.org/2016/10/07/497079353/driving-miss-norma-91-year-old-who-hit-the-road-after-cancer-diagnosis-dies
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married Tim Bauerschmidt (a writer).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, school counselor, and memoirist. Worked as a high school counselor.
AVOCATIONS:Photography.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Ramie Liddle is a writer, memoirist, and former high school counselor. Liddle and her husband, Tim Bauerschmidt, are known as “professional nomads.” They retired before age fifty and decided to live a free and rootless lifestyle, traveling the country in an Airstream travel trailer. The couple have spent years pursuing a life on the road, accompanied by their poodle, Ringo. In 2011, the couple started a blog titled “On the Road with Ringo,” where they chronicled their adventures crossing the United States in their trailer.
Though Bauerschmidt and Liddle enjoyed the freedom that the open road provided them, they would soon experience a crisis that many middle-aged children with aging parents would face. At age ninety, Bauerschmidt’s mother Norma was diagnosed with cancer. She had also recently lost her husband of nearly seventy years. Both Liddle and Bauerschmidt were extremely concerned what would happen to her and how they could help her.
Norma Bauerschmidt, however, would soon surprise her son and daughter-in-law and, perhaps, even herself. The doctors told her that she would be facing serious medical treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and a long stay in a nursing home to recover. Given her age and the severity of her condition, she knew that if she did as the doctors suggested, she may not survive the treatment, or if she did, that she may never leave the nursing home. Instead of submitting to painful and debilitating procedures that would likely rob her of precious time at the end of her life, she decided to take her son up on his offer of joining him on the road. Norma rejected the idea of cancer treatment and instead chose to spend her last days traveling and enjoying life.
In Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying “Yes” to Living, Bauerschmidt and Liddle describe Norma’s life, her decision, and what it was like living with her as they traveled throughout the country, offering her the chance to see and do things that had never been possible before. The book is influenced by the couple’s blog of the same name, where they kept a diary of their time traveling with Norma.
Bauerschmidt and Liddle detail the adventures they, and Norma, experienced across thirty-two states and more than 13,000 miles. “Almost immediately, living together in close quarters changed them and how they treated each other,” noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor. The somewhat formal and distant relationship between Bauerschmidt and his mother became changed to become more personal. All of the participants evolved deeper and more meaningful relationships with each other. For Norma’s part, she overcame a lifelong reticence and shyness that often kept her from doing things she enjoyed. Norma even tried some alternative healing methods, such as marijuana treatments, and discovered they helped her tremendously.
“This is a delightful chronicle of a family determined to celebrate life rather than dread death,” observed Booklist reviewer Candace Smith. In portraying Norma Bauerschmidt’s courageous decision to live out her life on her own terms, the “author celebrates life and offers a heartfelt vision of what dying a good death really means,” commented the Kirkus Reviews writer. In assessing the book, Terri Schlichenmeyer, writing in the Rushville Republican, commented: “I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would when I read Driving Miss Norma. I didn’t cry at all, in fact; there’s just too much joy here to cry.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Bauerschmidt, Tim and Ramie Liddle, Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying “Yes” to Living (memoir), HarperOne, New York, NY 2017.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2017, Candace Smith, review of Driving Miss Norma, p. 52.
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2017, review of Driving Miss Norma.
News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), May 24, 2017, Josh Shaffer, “When Cancer Struck, ‘Miss Norma’ Said No to Chemo and Hit the Road,” review of Driving Miss Norma.
Publishers Weekly, March 27, 2017, review of Driving Miss Norma, p. 93.
Rushville Republican (Rushville, IN), July 18, 2017, Terri Schlichenmeyer, review of Driving Miss Norma.
ONLINE
Island Packet, http://www.islandpacket.com/ (March 19, 2016), David Lauderdale, “Lauderdale: Q&A About Life and Death,” interview with Ramie Liddle.
National Public Radio Website, http://www.npr.org/ (October 7, 2016), Abbie Cornish and Kelly McEvers, All Things Considered, “Driving Miss Norma: Ninety-One-Year-Old Who Hit the Road after Cancer Diagnosis Dies,” transcript of radio interview with Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle.
Like most people who find themselves caring for one or both of their elderly parents, Tim and Ramie were not experts in the field. Ramie was a high school counselor with a background in parks and recreation; Tim tabled his journalism degree to remodel homes. Later, they chose to embrace a nomadic lifestyle with Ringo, their standard poodle.
In 2011, the couple began sharing photos and stories about “life on the road” on their blog www.poodleinapod.blogspot.com. Ramie started the Facebook page, “Driving Miss Norma”, in late August 2015. A few months later, it became wildly popular and now has over 525,000 followers from around the globe. Miss Norma’s story has been covered by nearly every major world news-media outlet, and the book about her year-long journey will be published in at least ten languages.
Ramie’s passion for photography, her delight in reading maps, and love for her mother-in-law allowed her to act as an embedded photojournalist, counselor and logistics coordinator for the family’s motorhome adventure. Tim’s much-appreciated talents for driving safely, for being able to fix things, and for preparing great-tasting food made the whole trip just that much better.
The couple still enjoys traveling, exploring the natural world, hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, and sharing meals with friends and former strangers.
Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle are professional nomads who retired by age 50 to travel full-time in an Airstream travel trailer with Ringo, their Standard Poodle. They have explored every state but Alaska, and consider Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula the closest thing to home. They continue to say "YES!" to living and have traded in their motor home for a boat, and will be cruising America's 6,000-mile Great Loop aboard M/V Miss Norma.
Remembrances
< Driving Miss Norma: 91-Year-Old Who Hit The Road After Cancer Diagnosis Dies
October 7, 20166:59 PM ET
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KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
This next story is about learning to live in the moment. Tim Bauerschmidt left home when he was 19. He would call or visit his parents in Michigan occasionally. Decades went by.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
After his father died last year, he knew his mother couldn't live by herself. She was 90. And he realized...
TIM BAUERSCHMIDT: I really didn't know my mom. I had some stilted conversations. She'd be on the other end of the phone when I talked to my dad. I'd have to say, Mom, are you there? Are you are on the line? Oh, yeah, I'm here.
MCEVERS: Tim says it was like his mom, Norma Bauerschmidt, was always in the shadow of his dad. They had been married for 67 years. And two days after he died, Norma, who was already grieving, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. The doctor recommended a hysterectomy and chemotherapy.
RAMIE LIDDLE: She said, nope, I'm not doing any of that.
CORNISH: That's Ramie Liddle, Tim's wife. The couple offered to have Norma come live with them, but there was a catch. They live in an RV and travel full-time. Ramie says that Norma took about two minutes and then gave them her answer.
LIDDLE: I'm 90-years-old, I'm hitting the road. Let's go have some fun. I don't want to spend another minute in a doctor's office.
MCEVERS: And so last summer marked the start of a year-long adventure for Norma, Ramie, Tim and the couple's poodle Ringo (ph). Before she was married, Norma had served in the Navy. She was a nurse at a hospital in San Diego during World War II. After that, her life was contained to Michigan.
CORNISH: So as soon as the foursome pulled away in the RV, Norma experienced many firsts.
BAUERSCHMIDT: Never been to Wisconsin, the state next to Michigan...
LIDDLE: Yeah.
BAUERSCHMIDT: ...I've never been here.
LIDDLE: Yeah.
BAUERSCHMIDT: Foods she'd never ate.
LIDDLE: A buffalo burger, a lobster, oysters. She realized real quickly that she loves key lime pie.
BAUERSCHMIDT: Or just attractions, she's never seen the Grand Canyon. She'd never seen any of the National Parks. She's never seen Disneyland.
LIDDLE: Never been to Florida.
BAUERSCHMIDT: Never been to Florida, never stayed at a stranger's house.
CORNISH: Ramie started to document their adventures.
LIDDLE: Yeah, I decided to put it on Facebook. I used to keep a travel blog because Tim and I were always on the road. And honestly, I liked to let my mom, who lives in Pittsburgh, know where we were.
MCEVERS: She named the Facebook page Driving Miss Norma. And after a few months, people beyond Ramie's mom started to take notice. A website picked up on it, and they ended up with hundreds of thousands of followers.
CORNISH: People around the world were in awe of Norma, the way Ramie and Tim were.
BAUERSCHMIDT: I used to say no to a lot of things. My knee-jerk reaction to most things, no, no. But now I hold my tongue and I consider it. And I'm saying yes to uncomfortable situations.
MCEVERS: Norma Bauerschmidt died last week at the age of 91. Her memorial service is today in Friday Harbor, Wash., on the other side of the country from where her RV adventures began.
Lauderdale: Q&A about life and death
By David Lauderdale
dlauderdale@islandpacket.com
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March 19, 2016 8:13 PM
This is about a 90-year-old lady who looked death square in the eye and chose life.
Or did she choose death?
You decide.
ADVERTISING
Norma Bauerschmidt of Michigan was diagnosed with uterine cancer two days after losing her husband, Leo, last summer. When a doctor suggested an operation, chemotherapy and radiation, Miss Norma said no thanks and hit the road.
For about six months, she’s been traveling the nation in an RV with her son, Tim Bauerschmidt, daughter-in-law, Ramie B. Liddle, and their standard poodle, Ringo.
Her story is told on the Facebook page Driving Miss Norma. Last week, she was featured on “CBS Evening News” and rode in the Hilton Head Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
I asked Ramie to explain this dance with life and death that has captured the nation.
Here’s what she said:
1.7 million
New cancer cases expected to be diagnosed this year
595,690
Number of Americans expected to die of cancer this year
14.5 million
Number of Americans with a history of cancer alive on Jan. 1, 2014
Q. What’s the core message of your trip?
A. There are so many messages that are coming up for us.
We were the family that never had the courage to bring up the “end-of-life” conversation with Tim’s parents until it was in our face. Leo died very suddenly, and Norma was faced with a health crisis simultaneously.
Norma was clear she was not going to gain quality-of-life by pursuing traditional cancer treatments and was more interested in living with us than in a nursing facility.
I don’t think that is an unusual choice; there are many people caring for their elderly parents in their homes. The difference is our home happens to have wheels.
For us it comes down to saying “yes” to living fully. The more we got her out and about, the more her health improved. She has bloomed beautifully into someone we hadn’t known before.
We have learned to never say “never.” She surprises us every day with her willingness to try new things, laugh and live in the present moment.
Q. Of all the feedback, which must be overwhelming, what general themes do you see in how America has reacted to her?
A. You are right, David! We are completely overwhelmed by the outpouring we have received, not only in America but around the world. The interesting thing is that our story seems to resonate with so many people on a variety of levels.
In addition to the thousands of invitations, media requests, well-meaning nutrition/diet advice and special-interest contingents (RVers, poodle lovers, beer and cake aficionados, etc.), there are some very clear themes.
Q. What are they?
A. The first theme includes those who have lived or are living the tough road.
This group includes: Those who are caring for their aging parents or grandparents; or have lost someone from cancer, or often the effects of cancer treatments; and those who are fighting, or have fought, the battle with cancer or any number of ugly medical issues.
Many of them wish they could have done it differently or will use this story to help them as they navigate their path. Some have regrets. Many are simply inspired to know there are options. If we had a dime for everyone who said, “I wish ...” our gas budget would be taken care of for years.
Q. But what do the real adults think?
A. The next theme consists of professionals working with end-of-life issues. This includes hospice workers, oncologists, ICU nurses, radiologists, long-term care workers, etc. They all say they see what people are put through every day in our system, and they all applaud our decision to forgo treatment and live life fully. They often declare that our path is exactly what they will do if the circumstances allow.
Q. What do everyday people think?
A. Quite possibly the biggest theme is simply thousands of well-wishers from every corner of the globe, inspired by Norma’s smile, zest for life or gumption to buck the system.
We are not entirely clear what has drawn everyone in, but it is a powerful force.
This story has crossed all boundaries. Cultural, geographic, spiritual/religious, age, socio-economic, you name it. We were surprised that young men outside the U.S. are very supportive of Norma’s journey and have written to tell her how she was able to help them put their priorities into perspective.
The most astounding fact has been there are zero negative comments on our Facebook page. Not one, out of hundreds of thousands. I haven’t been able to find that anywhere else on the Internet.
Q. It sounds good, but is any of this practical?
A. As humans, we all are faced with the end of life at some point, our own or the life of someone we care about.
I think our simple, feel-good story about Driving Miss Norma is serving as a safe conversation-starter for many. It is now the topic at break rooms, book clubs, medical school classrooms, boys and girls clubs, and dinner tables.
Tim and I happened to have read Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” right before this crisis hit our family.
The following quote from that book has helped us frame our approach to caring for his mom. I hope everyone I care about will take the time to read this book.
“I am leery of suggesting the idea that endings are controllable. No one ever really has control. Physics and biology and accident ultimately have their way in our lives. But the point is that we are not helpless either. Courage is the strength to recognize both realities. We have room to act, to shape our stories, though as time goes on, it is within narrower and narrower confines.
“A few conclusions become clear when we understand this: that our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer; that the chance to shape one’s story is essential to sustaining meaning in life; that we have the opportunity to refashion our institutions, our culture and our conversations in ways that transform the possibilities for the last chapters in everyone’s lives.”
David Lauderdale: 843-706-8115, @ThatsLauderdale
Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/david-lauderdale/article67128807.html#storylink=cpy
Bauerschmidt, Tim: DRIVING MISS NORMA
(Mar. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Bauerschmidt, Tim DRIVING MISS NORMA HarperOne (Adult Nonfiction) $26.99 5, 2 ISBN: 978-0-06-266432-7
A traveler/retiree's account of the lessons he learned about living well from touring the country with his dying nonagenarian mother.Bauerschmidt and his wife, Liddle, loved their nomadic travel-trailer lifestyle for the "simplicity and clarity" it offered them. But they also worried about what would happen to his aging parents when they could no longer take care of themselves. After his father's sudden death from organ failure, he learned that his mother, Norma, was dying of cancer. Certain only that Norma deserved to experience happiness, he accepted the challenge of caring for his mother on the open road. In chapters that alternate between Bauerschmidt's and Liddle's voices, the book follows the trio along a route that took them from Norma's home in Michigan all across America. Almost immediately, living together in close quarters changed them and how they treated each other. The formality and distance that had characterized Bauerschmidt's relationship with his mother dissipated. Made newly vulnerable, he became closer to her and was able to grieve the death of a younger sister he had lost years before. Meanwhile, Norma's shyness and stoicism gave way to joy. She learned to revel in experiences that included everything from watching Yellowstone geysers in Wyoming and an Indian tribal dance in New Mexico to trying a cannabis-based pain-relieving cream in Colorado and hot-air ballooning in Florida. Liddle, a woman who had been used to serving large communities, found unexpected reward in the renewed sense of purpose Norma gave her. The openness that characterized their relationship allowed all three to be at peace with Norma's ultimate decision to discontinue all medical assistance and "die a natural death [and not deal] with the side effects of medication, or being hooked up to artificial means." Depicting the ageless human capacity to learn and grow, the author celebrates life and offers a heartfelt vision of what dying a good death really means. An uplifting and life-affirming memoir.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Bauerschmidt, Tim: DRIVING MISS NORMA." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485105096&it=r&asid=a0a166a1e6f24b45c968cc3321ba8710. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105096
Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living
Candace Smith
113.17 (May 1, 2017): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
* Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living. By Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle. May 2017. 256p. HarperOne, $26.99 (9780062664327). 917.3.
At 90, Norma is diagnosed with cancer and given a choice: intensive chemotherapy and surgery or a motor-home road trip with her son, Tim, and partner, Ramie. Norma takes the road trip. Veteran travelers Tim and Ramie swap their small RV for a bigger model, and the three, plus dog Ringo, set out to tour the country and fill Normas remaining time with adventures. Tim and Ramie alternate chapters chronicling the journey that begins in Michigan, loops around the South, up the East Coast, and ends a year later in Washington. Norma visits museums, flies in a hot air balloon, sees wildlife, explores national parks, and meets new friends. Faithfully posted on Facebook, her story attracts legions of fans whose enthusiasm carries "Miss Norma" to Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade, top hotels, and TV appearances. Tim and Ramie are reluctant at first to embrace Miss Normas popularity, but her beaming smile and delight win them over. Along the way, they all learn more about fear, grief, and love. This is a delightful chronicle of a family determined to celebrate life rather than dread death, and everyone can learn from their courage.--Candace Smith
Smith, Candace
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Smith, Candace. "Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying 'Yes' to Living." Booklist, 1 May 2017, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA495035036&it=r&asid=facceb01146651ac344520c4ca5f4c25. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495035036
Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living
264.13 (Mar. 27, 2017): p93.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Driving Miss Norma: One Family's
Journey Saying "Yes" to Living
Tim Bauersclimidt and Ramie Liddle.
HarperOne, $26.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06266432-7
At 90, Bauerschmidt, newly widowed, was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Instead of having surgery and enduring months of recovery, she opted to join her retired son, Tim, and daughter-in-law. Ramie, on a grand adventure as they cruise the U.S. in their "mobile assisted living home." For the first time, as Bauerschmidt writes in this endearing memoir, they got to know one another as adults, and their trip transformed into a warm, thoughtful, and meaningful conversation on family, aging, caretaking, and what happens when you look to other ways to heal besides Western medicine. Along the way, they encountered tremendous interest and kindness from strangers who learned about Norma through Facebook updates and a CBS segment. The trio were feted at parades and treated to home-cooked meals, and they celebrated Norma's birthday with courtside seats at an NBA game. The months on the road were nourishing for Norma, who saw some of her symptoms disappear, and also very therapeutic for Tim and Ramie, who had led itinerant lives free of obligations for years. Tim, Ramie, and Norma's travels are joyful and moving; it's no surprise that their story that has gotten international coverage and touched more than a half million fans. Norma's willingness to be fearless and open to whatever comes her way, even trying cannabis cream, offers profound insights into how we choose to live. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying 'Yes' to Living." Publishers Weekly, 27 Mar. 2017, p. 93+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA487928180&it=r&asid=4a457833fa5890fa9100b645226e1ea5. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487928180
When cancer struck, ‘Miss Norma’ said no to chemo and hit the road – Shaffer
By Josh Shaffer
jshaffer@newsobserver.com
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May 24, 2017 3:53 PM
DURHAM
At age 90, Norma Bauerschmidt shrugged off her cancer diagnosis and climbed aboard a 36-foot motor home with her middle-aged son, his wife and Ringo, their pet poodle. For the next year, she crossed 13,000 miles and 32 states, taking a hot-air balloon ride, quaffing beers, scarfing cake and rolling across Yellowstone National Park in a wheelchair.
“Miss Norma” rejected the idea of radiation, chemotherapy and risky surgery for a chance to sponge up as much life as her final nomadic months would allow. She abandoned the perennial garden that graced her longtime Michigan home for a celebration lap around the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, New Orleans and Maine. In Colorado, as the pain from uterine cancer grew, she traded her opiates for cannabis cream and hemp oil capsules.
“I’m 90 years old,” she told her doctor. “I’m hitting the road.”
For a while, Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle second-guessed their unorthodox form of elder care, wondering if a frail and sick woman, recently widowed after almost 70 years of marriage, could stand sleeping, bathing and washing clothes inside of a Fleetwood Southwind 36D, far from any regular doctor.
Their conclusion: “It’s no crazier than spending the rest of your days in a nursing home.”
Their new book, “Driving Miss Norma,” follows the trip from the elderly traveler’s driveway to her death last September inside the motor home, where she received hospice care and passed peacefully to the sound of her son singing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” On Thursday night, the two will sign and read from their story at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham.
“In every smile, every goofy face, every stop on the map, we learned so much from her,” wrote her son Tim, 59. “I am so grateful that I did not rob myself of the opportunity to get to know my Mom. Ultimately, she taught me to say ‘Yes!’ ”
My senior citizen parents are safely situated in suburban Baltimore, but this story still resonates for me. As a 21-year-old college graduate, I spent three months traveling the country with a pair of friends, fishing in the Tetons, meeting Lakota Sioux on a reservation in South Dakota, playing pool in a barroom in Montana with a man who insisted California was the edge of the Earth. My wife and I still get wistful when we pass an Airstream trailer on the highway, being less mobile now with a mortgage and a child.
I am so grateful that I did not rob myself of the opportunity to get to know my Mom. Ultimately, she taught me to say ‘Yes!’
Tim Bauerschmidt
When I spoke to Ramie Liddle on Wednesday, she said most people ask them how such a voyage could be financially possible. She answers that she and her husband always lived frugally, buying little for themselves and opting against children. They spent many years together in a smaller Airstream, living largely without possessions or debt. Norma collected Social Security, which made luxuries such as a hot-air balloon ride in Florida feasible.
But mostly, her mother-in-law made a conscious decision to finish her life outside of doctors’ offices and pharmacies. Little about her past suggested she would favor the rootless lifestyle. After World War II, in which she served as a WAVE, she played her expected role as a housewife.
“They ate lunchmeat sandwiches with potato chips and dill pickles every day,” Tim Bauerschmidt wrote of his parents. “They were in bed after the ten o’clock news.”
But on the road, Miss Norma rushed into new experiences. At Mount Rushmore, she pushed the mock blasting detonator at an interactive display, making fake explosions with a 9-year-old boy. She watched a traditional dance in a New Mexico pueblo, and as people cleared a space for her wheelchair, she remarked, “This sure is something.” After her pain and bleeding stopped with the cannabis cream and CBD capsules, she told her family, “I think we need to go back to that marijuana shop.”
Her son and daughter-in-law had a book deal before Miss Norma died, and even as they were working on it, a movie deal emerged. As she watched the country unfold across her last days, Miss Norma imagined who might star in the role of her life.
“Meryl Streep was definitely a pick,” Ramie Liddle told me.
But in the end, she knew that nobody could act out her story. Nobody else could ride toward death in a state of almost pure delight. Nobody else could inspire the question, “Which is your favorite place?” and answer, “Where I am right now.”
Josh Shaffer: 919-829-4818, @joshshaffer08
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article152409584.html#storylink=cpy
Book review: 'Driving Miss Norma' by Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle
By Terri Schlichenmeyer Jul 18, 2017
The car’s all packed with your gear.
The tent, sleeping bags, extra pillows, there was room for everything you’ll need and some things you won’t. You’ve really been looking forward to going. This trip will be remarkable – especially if, as in “Driving Miss Norma” by Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle, your cargo is particularly precious.
What will we do with our parents when they’re too old to care for themselves?
It’s a question that Baby Boomers ask every day, and it’d crossed Bauerschmidt’s and Liddle’s minds. They decided they had time to make decisions. Their parents were older, but that didn’t seem any cause for concern; her mother and his mom and dad were in relatively good health.
Until they weren’t.
Bauerschmidt and Liddle are nomads, and they travel around the country wherever the roads take them. On their routine annual trip to northern Michigan, they found what they hoped never to find: his father was desperately ill and his mother wasn’t coping well. Then Bauerschmidt’s father died. Two days later, Bauerschmidt’s mother, Norma, was diagnosed with advanced uterine cancer.
Bauerschmidt and Liddle were facing a frontier they never expected. And so they did the unexpected: they offered to take Norma with them on their travels, cross-country.
Not wanting to live her last days in a hospital, she said “yes.”
The trip wasn’t without issues: their first days were stuck in Michigan because high winds kept the RV off local bridges but Norma’s wide-eyed excitement showed the benefits of living in the moment. After all, there were regional foods to sample, horses to ride, hot air balloons to soar in, and a Native American celebration to see. Norma visited Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone for the first time. She fell in love with Ringo, a standard poodle. Prescription medicines stopped working for her, so the 90-year-old went to a “Pot Store” in Colorado for relief. She went to a World War II museum in Louisiana. She was in a parade, became famous, and blossomed.
“None of us knew what was coming next,” says Liddle. “But one thing we now knew was this: taking Norma on the road was… a good decision.”
I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would when I read “Driving Miss Norma.” I didn’t cry at all, in fact; there’s just too much joy here to cry.
While it bears mention that there are times when authors Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle get a little sappy, it’s not all that bothersome. Readers can overlook it because the bulk of this travelogue is so charming: not only is it fun to watch “Miss Norma” go from housewife to hero for millions, but viewing the U.S. through her awe-struck eyes lends a fresher look at old monuments.
And the best part? As Bauerschmidt learns more about his mother, so do we – and it’s easy to like what we see, just as it’s easy to love this book. And you so will. For your vacation this summer, “Driving Miss Norma” is the book to pack.