Brooklyn-based Mary Morris has written before about the Midwest where she was raised. But in her latest book, she confronts her middle America roots head on. In The River Queen, Morris sets out to travel by houseboat down the Mississippi, a journey inspired in part by the stories her father used to tell her about his life growing up along the river’s banks.
Two months before embarking on this Twain-like trip, Morris’ father passed away and her daughter left for college. And then, two weeks before departure, Katrina hit. As she explains, the book she set out to write took on a life of it’s own long before departure. Her narrative is a mix of personal story, US history and insight on shared universal truths.
It sounds like this fourth travel memoir from Morris won’t disappoint. Her previous travel titles include: Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone, Wall to Wall: from Beijing to Berlin by Rail , and Angels & Aliens: A Journey West. Listen to an interview with the author here.