Riding In Cars With Boys

Riding In Cars With Boys

Adult autobiography
Beverly Donofrio's Riding In Cars With Boys is a very good
example of the wisdom of not judging a book by its cover. Far from
racy, it is a poignant and inspiring story of survival and
redemption. As the story opens, Donofrio is driving her very
unplanned for but treasured son to college and reflecting on her
life: the topic of this bittersweet volume.
When Donofrio was in tenth grade her mother said she could not
go to college. Instead of dreaming, she should study typing and get a
good job after high school. Not surprisingly, she gave up trying to
succeed in school. Equally not surprising, at 17 she was pregnant and
married off to her baby daddy. Divorce at 19 and drug arrest at 21
followed. At 23 she wondered whether her young son would be better
off without her.
Fortunately Donofrio's life was about to take a turn for the
better. When her social worker set her up for a battery of tests, she
scored enough to finally get into college, starting off in a community
college and quickly moving up to a prestigious university.
This book is a great read, particularly for folks who work with
young people from challenging backgrounds: first generation college
students and high school students who aspire to be such and their
peers who at least temporarily give up.
On a personal note: Adam's first day as a high school senior I woke
up to wake him up for school, only to discover that he had fixed
breakfast. Didn't he ever look handsome in his favorite blue button-
down shirt!
A great big shout out goes out to all our students going back to school.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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