Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living

I was raised in Small town in Montana .I was raised during a time when most everyone treated each other with respect. We didn't eat fast food because you only got that as a treat.We drank Lemonade made from water that came from our kitchen sink. We ate tuna sandwiches, or peanut butter and jelly, hamburgers & grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade meals consisting of mainly spaghetti ,meat, potatoes, vegetable, bread & butter, and homemade dessert. (If we were lucky enough to have dessert.).If we were really good when we went to town Dad and Mom would take us to the City Cafe.We grew up during a time when we mowed lawns, pulled weeds, babysat, gardened, helped neighbors with chores to be able to earn our own money. We went outside a lot to play games, ride bikes, roller-skate, played with siblings and friends & played basketball or dodge ball, Chinese jump rope. We drank tap water from the hose outside... bottled water was unheard of.We watched TV shows like dukes of hazzard, knight rider, A team. After school, we came home and did homework and chores. Practiced on our instruments. To bed by 8:30pm on school nights. On the weekends and could only watch the Wonderful World of Disney and Wild Kingdom on Sunday nights, after dinner had been eaten.We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, & what time we'd be back.You got new clothes once a year before school started and then sometimes for your birthday. When we were in grade school we didn't get designer clothing, we got whatever was on sale from the Sears catalog...It's just how it was.You LEARNED from our parents instead of disrespecting them and treating them as if they knew absolutely nothing.What they said was LAW!! And you had better know it!!!You had to be close enough to home to hear your Mom yelling to tell you when it’s time to come home for dinner.When the street lights came on you had better be home.We ate around the dinner table and talked to each other as a family .In school we said the Pledge of Allegiance, we stood for the National Anthem & listened to our teachers.We watched what we said around our elders because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up we would get our behinds whipped, it wasn't called abuse, it was called discipline!We held doors, carried groceries and gave up our seat for an older person without being asked.You didn't hear curse words on the radio in songs or TV, and if you cursed and got caught, you better be prepared to get a swat, soap, or to stand in the corner (sometimes all 3.)“Please, Thank you, Excuse me and You're Welcome were part of our daily vocabulary! They are words to success in life.We grew up believing in the word of GOD to respect the Nation, the flag, and the President, no matter who it was.Re-post if you're thankful for your childhood and will never forget where you came from & the time you came from! Wouldn't it be nice if it were possible to get back to this way of life? 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏If this is how you grew up..... Copy & paste.

Good

In between my parents' retirement and my mother's long slow health decline, I'd stop in for a visit. "There's a new Dick Francis," Ma would tell me, well aware of the outcome: I'd start reading the book about 10 pm, and would rip straight through it, finally turning the last page around 2 am. The joy of total immersion in a riveting story far outweighed the challenge of having to get up the following morning.This book brought back those fun times, as I picked it up as a Kindle product, transferred it to my tablet, and finished the blast read four hours later. It's that good.Tim and Ramie are no Dick Francis; there's no mystery here. (Spoiler: the protagonist dies.) They are excellent storytellers, alternating their voices to create different perspectives on their 402-day journey with Norma, along with a prequel, a sequel (Norma kept a journal!), and flashbacks. As a FB page follower, I'd stalked up the obituary for Tim's sister Stacy. He took several paragraphs to round out her story. He also tells us about his interest in cooking, and Ramie provides backstory on her life. They answer many of the questions I'd found myself wondering -- what about the house in Presque Isle? what happened to the Airstream? and develop many new intriguing tales. Norma getting a hero veteran's welcome at the WWII museum in New Orleans (I've been there -- the description is spot on). The nomads in campgrounds and Wal-Mart parking lots. A chance message from a follower in Maine; they dropped by her office and then found her doing tai chi at the Y. The ranks of female sailors aboard the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. And of course, the viral popularity of their Facebook page.Keep the tissues handy. I needed them when a young man told them, "after reading about your story, we took our first family vacation together, ever." And thinking about my own parents who died in hospital beds, suffering. (I'd tried to take Ma on one last trip to her beloved Mackinac Island, but it was "too far" and "too much trouble" and "what about my oxygen tank.") Ramie describes wanting to help make a difference in the world; that's already happened.

This book is a fantastic read about one family's response to a cancer diagnosis! The chapters written alternately by Norma's son, Tim and her daughter-in-law, Ramie chronicle their journey on many levels: places they visit, buried grief, drifting family connections, learning to laugh and experiencing joy. One of my favorite moments is when they visit a cannabis shop in Colorado to find better pain relief for Norma. The description of the setting and Jim's teenage encounter with Norma and a joint, are hilarious and poignant all in one.I love all the wonderful pictures in the book of Norma's exuberant face as she sees various sites, the family pictures and especially the ones with her grand-dog, Ringo beside her. Ramie mentions reading Atul Gawande's book, Being Mortal, just before learning of Norma's cancer. The book helps Ramie and Tim better understand that "going on a road trip" could extend Norma's life far longer than traditional cancer treatments. Their trip is an affirmation that "Norma is not done yet; she still has curiosity and wants to have fun."As I read Gawande's book and this one, I wish I had read them both before my parents were facing death. I wonder how I could have changed my interaction with them and perhaps helped them have some joy or another laugh before taking their last breath? I will never know, but I am thinking I will give our adult kids a copy of this book so they know I want to go on a road trip instead of the nursing home or a cancer center!! What if more children chose this kind of adventure with their dying parents?

Bought the book after finding their Facebook page. It's a beautiful story that'll take you through a range of emotions

Saw an article in Daily Mail and as a cancer patient myself wanted to find out more from another persons view.Read with tears and laughter, the smiles being the most dominant. Really enjoyed reading and have recommended to others.True story that rings true and two narrators shows the truth. Excellent read from cover to cver and inspired me to carry on and challenge all of my issues!

Enjoyed this book

I was much moved by this book and the attitude of Miss Norma and respect and praise how amazing her son and his partner were

Great book. A very inspirational true account of enjoying life to the end. Wonderful.