Welcome to the tragedy-of-the-month club! In one nine-month period, Mark Millhone's youngest son nearly dies from birth complications, his oldest son is injured in a household accident, his father is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and his mother has a heart attack and passes away. In the aftermath of this year-from-hell, his marriage also begins to fray. He deals with this as only a "real man" could: he logs on to eBay and bids on his dream car. The like-new BMW becomes more than a car for Millhone-it's almost a prayer to the patron saint of used cars and second chances to make his family like new again. Joined by his estranged dad, he embarks on a dysfunctional family road trip to pick up the car-a comedy of errors that gives Millhone life-affirming perspectives on how to navigate the road of life's bumpy patches. "Ray Porter's masterful delivery of Millhone's memoir…elicit[s] universal emotions and a feeling of connection. His tone and pace are conversational, punctuated by increases in volume and intensity where appropriate to the events and language of the text. His equally skillful handling of wry humor, muttered asides, and musings adds to his authenticity as Mark Millhone. Porter also does especially convincing presentations of Millhone's father and Rose, Millhone's wife. The final product is both funny and poignant-a slice-of-life listeners will identify with and enjoy." "Simultaneously humorous and poignant…An impressive display of misery tinged with rueful humor-like Woody Allen wading into Ingmar Bergman."
