The Drive follows Teresa Bruce on her 2003 road trip through Mexico
and onto the Pan-American Highway, in a rickety camper with her old dog
and new husband in tow. Bruce first set off on the exact same route in
1973, her parents at the helm and their two young daughters in tow, as a
reaction to the accidental death of their youngest child, Bruce's
brother John John. Her attempt to follow the route, using her mother's
travel journal as an anecdotal guide, is as much about her need for
exploration as it is about trying to understand her parents and their
pain, and to finally begin to heal her own wounds over the accident.
Bruce is immensely talented in bringing scenery of Central and South
America to life - countries from Mexico and Guatemala to Bolivia and
Argentina are detailed with her innate attention to detail and sense of
storytelling. The Drive details a really incredible journey through
these beautiful, at times corrupt and war-torn countries, across roads
that are as likely to be barricaded by guerrillas or washed out by
floods as they are to be passable.
The Drive is travel writing at its best, combining moments of deep
heartbreak with unimaginable joy over a panoply of unforgettable
settings.