by Rachel Simon
I read this book at the insistence of one of my mentors, and she was right to insist. Here’s what the back of the book has to say:
Beth is a spirited woman with mental retardation who spends nearly every day riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. Beth, who lives independently and has a boyfriend, is a joyful, endearing, and feisty individual. Her single sister, Rachel, a writer and professor, masks her emotional isolation and loneliness behind her hyperbusy schedule. When Beth asks Rachel to accompany her on the buses for one year, they take a transcendent journey that changes Rachel’s life in incredible ways, leads her to accept her sister at long last — and teaches her to slow down and enjoy the ride.
It’s a true story, and it shows the reader, among other things, how important it is for each of us to reflect on our own lives, to decide if we’re truly happy with the way we’re living, and to make a change if a change needs to be made.
During Reading
As you read be sure to visit the blog on occasion to leave comments with your thoughts. You must comment five times while you read, and in those comments you must respond to a quotation of your choice from the book. I’ll leave my own quotation comment for you as an example.
As you’re writing your own comments, be sure to read other students’ comments as well. You’ll need to respond to two of your peers comments as well. Again, check out the comments I’ve left for an example.
After you finish: Writing Prompts: Choose two (from rachelsimon.com)
1. Consider and discuss Rachel and Beth’s father: his departure from the family soon after their move to Pennsylvania; his return when their mother kicks Laura, Rachel, and Max out of the house; and his tumultuous relationship with Beth, both before and after his remarriage. Compare his ability to come to terms with Beth’s disability when she was a child with his gradually becoming worn down by their relationship in her adolescence and twenties. Compare and contrast his actions with the actions of their mother. Are there ways in which either is more or less adept than the other? If you know other parents of children with special needs, how do their experiences compare with the experiences of Beth’s parents?
2. Discuss the way that Rachel, Laura, and Max were affected by being the siblings of a person with special needs. How much of a role do you think Beth’s disability played in their growth as individuals? How did their parents’ feelings toward Beth affect the ability of the other siblings to accept her? Examine Simon’s approach to the times when she was not feeling positive about her sister. Discuss the device of the “dark voice.” Have you known other siblings of people with disabilities? How do their emotions and concerns mirror those of their parents, and how are they distinct or unique?
3. Compare and contrast the different bus drivers with one another: Claude, Jacob, Happy Timmy, Rodolpho, Rick, Henry, Estella, Crazy Bailey, Jack, Bert, Cliff, and Melanie. Who are your favorites? Which personalities are more vivid than others? What does each contribute to Beth’s daily rides? Describe Beth’s “falling out” with men such as Claude, Henry, and Cliff. Do we see these men as sympathetic characters or slightly villainous for their lack of patience? Discuss how your perceptions of bus drivers were affected by the characters you “met” over the year. What do their experiences teach us?
4. Discuss Beth’s romantic relationship with Jesse: How would you describe their dynamic? How does their relationship compare with what you know of Sam and Rachel’s relationship? Is mental disability portrayed as being a significant factor in Beth and Jesse’s compatibility? What did you think of the way Rachel’s family handled Beth’s burgeoning sexuality, and Beth’s annual reminder to Rachel: “Its TEn years since I cant Have a baBy?” Did learning about Beth and Jesse’s relationship affect the way you view adults with disabilities? How?
5. Discuss the various explorations of language that occur throughout the book. What do you think about People First Language? The epithet that Rachel hears her classmates use in school? Did you find yourself questioning your own way of speaking, in the past or present? What is Beth’s definition of “cool”? Why does Simon elaborate on Beth’s three different meanings for “I don’t know”? How does all of this discussion of language expand the larger themes of Beth’s struggle for independence and Rachel’s struggle to accept Beth?
30 Comments
June 10, 2008 at 5:28 pm
On page 12 Simon writes: “I held up the letter to reread it and slowly comprehended its significance: Beth had asked that I be included. In the eleven years since she had left home, this meeting…had been attended only by her aides, not family.” In this scene, Rachel is startled and excited by Beth’s invitation to her yearly Plan of Care meeting. It marks one of the first times that Beth has reached out to really include Rachel in her life. I can relate to this because I have five siblings and I don’t feel that I’m as close to all of them as I should be. Just this month I was invited to attend my sister’s high school graduation in Kentucky and I couldn’t make it due to the costs of travel. That made me feel like a bad brother and just a horrible person in general, but I’ve got to go easy on myself — sometimes life gets in the way and you just miss things. So I promised to make it up to her by sending her some money and promising to take her and her boyfriend out for a nice dinner the next time I head home to see them. So anyway, I think I can relate to Rachel feeling like she’s a bad sister.
July 28, 2008 at 3:30 pm
“When they see Beth at a stop sign ahead, they cruise right by, gaze glued to the road” (6). This quote shows that some people have hearts as cold as ice. I do not understand how someone could drive past someone else knowing they should stop, and does not feel bad. I can be sensitive at times, so I could not do that at all to anyone. If I were to do that to someone I wouldn’t feel like a good person. This quote also shows that Beth is a strong person, because she doesn’t even care. Beth lets it roll off her shoulder the way it should.
July 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm
“Now, sharing my bed with books, I have no room in my life for a man, much less a future family” (52). This quote exposes Rachel Simon as a very lonely woman. I hate to see people who are lonely, because being alone can be very tough. Fortunately, Rachel can admit this to herself, because many people cannot. The many who do not admit it are usually living in denial. Once I read this I figured that Rachel would hopefully learn something from Beth and the bus drivers about having fun.
July 28, 2008 at 3:49 pm
“Tell Beth not to come meet me at the bus! Tell her to wait for me inside” (103). I felt touched by this quote, because it shows just how cruel children can be. Beth did not mean any harm at all. She just wanted to fit in, so therefore she just wanted to hang out with her sister. Instead of taking her frustrations out on Beth, Rachel should have yelled at her classmates. I could only imagine how bad it must feel to know you embarrass your own sibling. I would hate to make my brothers feel like that, and I hope that I never do.
July 28, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“I don’t understand what’s happening except for one thing: my sister has disappeared” (171). I could only imagine how their family would be feeling. If my little brother ever disappeared- god forbid- I would be extremely sad. I don’t know how Max, Laura, and Rachel were able to keep it all together. I woud have not been able to do anything, but think about my brother. Later on when I read that their mom sent her back I began to feel really happy for them. I also would have been so mad at my mom like they were toward their own.
July 28, 2008 at 4:08 pm
“… I now live with Sam: a house to which I moved last week as a fiancee and to which I will return tonight as a bride” (293). As I read that line I began to feel very happy for Rachel. Sam is the one guy Rachel always thought about throughout the book. I feel like Rachel’s life is finally complete, because she’s having fun and she’s in love. This book truely has a very happy ending and that is something I love. I wish every book was finished just like this one!
July 28, 2008 at 4:30 pm
My thoughts on “Question 2″:
Max, Laura, and Rachel were all affected by Beth’s disability. They played huge roles in Beth’s life, because she became dependent upon them being there for her. Their parents made Beth seem like she’s always apart of the family, so that made accepting Beth for the kids easier. Simon did not always get a positive vibe from Beth, because they did annoy each other at times. Simon’s dark voice would tell her to tell her off, but her sisterly bond made her stop. I have an aunt with disabilities, but it has not stopped her from being always having fun.
July 28, 2008 at 4:36 pm
My thoughts on “Question 4″:
Jesse and Beth have a great relationship, because unlike most people they both accept each other’s flaws and all. Beth and Jesse are on the same line in life and are unlike Sam and Rachel. Rachel wanted to work while Sam wanted a family. I think that since Beth and Jesse are both disabled in some way it makes it easier for them to relate to one another. I think the family handled Beth’s burgeoning sexuality in an okay way. I don’t think that people should decide if someone should have a child or not, but Beth would never be ready. Therefore, that makes it understandable. When Beth annouces yearly that she can’t have a baby it only goes to show that she still thinks about it often. Beth and Jesse’s relationship just reinforced the fact that there is someone for everyone.
July 29, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Responding to W3b3r’s comment:
I completely agree, because sometimes I feel like a bad older sister. I try to hang out with my little brother, and we do get along well most of the time, but sometimes I’d rather be with my friends or boyfriend instead of him. It makes me feel bad, so I try to always joke with him and make him laugh. As of lately we’ve been connecting really well so I feel like it is a big improvement. There’s times when my boyfriend tells me how he just finished having a talk with his little brother, and I’ll feel bad about not talking to mine as much as he did with his. I stopped that because he chooses to talk to his little brother while we choose to laugh!
August 21, 2008 at 11:15 pm
“I was disheartened by her choosing to master bus routes over sticking with something productive like a job” (10). If Beth doesn’t work, where does she get food without money? Does she get sent food or something before Rachel started staying with her?
I think Rachel should have been able to understand now why Beth decided to do this. By riding buses everyday, she can be surrounded by people who accept her for who she is and not by those who mind that she is mentally retarded.
August 22, 2008 at 2:49 am
I agree with NineteenHugs. Some people are just so mean. I can’t believe they would just ignore Beth like that. Just because they don’t like her, doesn’t mean they should treat her as if she doesn’t exist or not even let her on the bus and tell her to “shut up and go home.” It’s amazing how Beth doesn’t even pay them any mind even if they are so mean to her. She wasn’t even mad. If it was me, I might not have been able to do that. I might have been crying when no one was looking.
August 23, 2008 at 8:08 pm
“I go to my room so relieved that we’d been awake, but afraid she’ll sleepwalk again. Was she chasing something in a dream, I wonder, as I lie awake in a worry. Or was she just doing what the rest of us secretly want: trying to run away?” (78). I remember I used to sleepwalk when I was little. Sometimes I would remember what happened. The times when I do remember, I see things, but not so clearly and I don’t answer when someone calls my name. I just continue doing what I’m doing. One time, I couldn’t recall what happened that night, but I heard from my brother that he was woken up by me. He saw me getting out of bed and asked me where I was going. I didn’t answer and walked to the door. My family and I used to live in a small two room apartment so the front door was at the foot of my bed. My brother knew something was wrong so he ran and grabbed hold of my leg and bellowed at my parents that I was sleepwalking again and trying to get outside. While I was kicking him, my parents rushed out of their beds and stopped me. If my brother hadn’t woken up in time, who knew what might have happened to me. I felt bad that I kicked him, but he didn’t let go of me until my parents came. Like Rachel, now that I think about it, I wonder if I was also chasing something in my dream or I wanted to secretly run away, though I don’t know what the reason would be.
August 23, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Continued from my last post:
Maybe Beth was trying to run away from herself because she knows she is different from other kids.
August 24, 2008 at 9:11 pm
“Every January, Beth will mention the anniversary of her tubal ligation in a letter. ITS TEN YEARS, she wrote in the latest, SINCE I CANT HAVE A BABY” (122). I think that although her scarred flesh healed, the scar inside her doesn’t. Every January she would remember that she can’t have a baby. She might not be seen crying about it, but she could be crying inside.
August 27, 2008 at 5:59 am
I definetly agree with NineteenHugs, on the quote where the drivers would drive right by seeing her at the stop. I personally think that Beth was really lucky to be a small town as opposed to here in New York because she probably would have turned to drugs for relieves from New Yorkers cruelties. The fact that she dealt with that all her life makes her stronger as she is to just brush it off instead of letting it get to her. This is also an example of people with disabilities are just like everyone, for instance she has priorities just like usshe has her own beliefs just like us, she even has a boyfriend just like anyone else, so what makes her really different that she thinks differently, we all do too think differently.
August 27, 2008 at 6:04 am
“A year, I think. For her just one year. I rest my hand on the railing. The, not knowing where this bus is going, i hop aboard her life”(20)
For the past couple of years all Rachel as done is work and work . Now that her sister Beth offers her a ticket to her life riding the busses with her Rachel realizes that she could use a new experience in her life to feel normal. To have someone to share good moments with and stop feeling so lonely.
August 29, 2008 at 12:33 am
“On seventeen buses, over twelve hours, Beth’s talk brims with spite about the brutes she encounters. . . . Her babble is unceasing, booming, and unvarying from bus to bus.” In this quote, it shows the action of Beth in the bus. She reveals herself to be at times frustrated with her sister’s behavior. During the period that her sister Rachel riding the bus with Beth, Rachel started understand Beth and learn something about family relationships and forgiveness. In her whole life, it’s important and can not replace.
August 29, 2008 at 1:01 am
Respond to NineteenHugs
(July 29, 2008 at 4:26 pm):
I strong agree with it. I think it’s true. It shows a common question between sister or brother within a family, like Beth and Rachel. The love of siblings is always ignored. From this quote, the readers can relate to their situation easily. Alot of people have these kinds of experiences, including me. People do not feel close to their siblings. I have a little brother but I do not talk to him or play to him all times. For me, I think he always bothers me. I rather to hang out with my friends. Sometimes, I think I am a bad sister, like Nineteen Hugs. All of these gives me the same feelings like him. It’s the reason that I I completely agree with him.
August 29, 2008 at 1:17 am
I agree with Roxxy
(August 27, 2008 at 6:04 am),
“A year, I think. For her just one year. I rest my hand on the railing. The, not knowing where this bus is going, i hop aboard her life”(20) This quote is meaning. It reveals Rachel’s thoughts and attitude about Beth. Since her mentally retarded sister, Beth invited her to ride the bus for a year, Rachel realizes that she would have a new experience with Beth. The relationship between Beth and Rachel will be improved. Also, Rachel begins to see that her own life consists of nothing but work. Riding the bus with her sister gives Rachel a big impact.
August 29, 2008 at 12:24 pm
“To Beth, every day is Independence Day. This was not true for the first half of her life, and for the next quarter it was more of a rebel war… Since she has lived on her own, though, each day her actions declare anew that all men are created equal, and have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and, especially, the pursuit of happiness. ” (page 180) When I first read this quote, I realize Beth is a special women. In this book, her sister Rachel portrays Beth as the endearing, feisty, independent person. I agree with this. Absolute, she does whatever she want. During the period that she riding the bus in her Pennsylvania city, she learned the right of life and how to seek her own happiness. Rachel loves these about her. All of these affect Rachel and give her changes.
August 29, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Responding to Lily’s comment:
August 21, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I agree with Lily. I think that Rachel should just accept the fact that Beth does not want to work. Just because Rachel chooses to be a workaholic doesn’t mean the whole world has to be one too. It isn’t even that big of a deal in the first place. Rachel should let Beth do things the she wants to do, and vice versa. This way there will be a lot less problems.
August 30, 2008 at 4:03 am
“The power to observe is the power to learn” (205). During the year and time she spends with Beth, Rachel observes her sister’s actions. She observes how Beth acts toward bus drivers and how her lifestyle is like. When someone treats her nicely, she treats them back the same way. She likes being around certain bus drivers, depending on whether they are nice, and talks nonstop to them. She lives her life unhealthily and wouldn’t change it no matter what others tell her. Beth has her own code of language, like different meanings for three different ways of saying I don’t know. As Rachel continues spending time with Beth, she slowly learns to understand her more.
August 30, 2008 at 4:59 am
“This is what I am thinking, as I rise, set the card on the bed, and step into my wedding gown. I am forty-one, and, today, by incredible coincidence, Beth and I became twins again” (293). Maybe it is fate for her to get married on the day Beth and she become twins again. It could be a kind of celebration fate has given them for the time they have spent together where they learned and finally understood one another as sisters.
August 30, 2008 at 9:00 pm
“You got to look, and then you do a quick study, and then you act. The power to observe is the power to learn” (page 205). I like this quote very much. I think it is important and meaning. From this book, I know Beth is a spirited and independence. She spends nearly every day riding the buses in her city. Later on, Beth asks Rachel to accompany her on the buses for a year. During this period, Rachel learned a lot from Beth. She observed Beth and her actions. Beth is special and has her own lifestyle. All of these actions and ideas affect Rachel a lot. Because of these, Rachel changes not only her attitude to Beth, but also her own actions. This time, Rachel wrote “The power to observe is the power to learn” in her journal and in order to remember this. From this point, the reader can understand that these words are very important for Rachel.
August 30, 2008 at 10:27 pm
“I am no longer scared, I think. I do not feel cold. I lower the veil over my face, over the same hair and eyes and – at last I can admit – love of life that I share with Beth. Then I reach forward and open the door” (page 293). Rachel wrote this at the end of the book. I think it reveals her thoughts after she accompanied with her sister Beth. A year and a half later, Rachel changed a lot. She understood more than before. She started open her heart and realized the love of life. Actually, Rachel uses work to cover her emotional isolation. After she riding the buses with Beth, she knew how to love, how to pay attention to something and how to change her own life.
August 30, 2008 at 11:04 pm
“I take a deep breath to clam myself. I will simply adjust when the time comes. It won’t be impossible, because I now understand what they’re doing, and I’ll have the drivers to turn to” (page 282). The readers can see the changes about Rachel from this quote. From the time that she rided the buses with Beth, she learned how to adjust her own life. Also, she began to observe people who around her and learn from them.
August 31, 2008 at 5:15 am
I agree with Roxxy. After breaking up with Sam, Rachel becomes lonely and doesn’t consider dating again because Sam is always on her mind. She decides to spend a year sharing Beth’s life with Beth and see where it will take her and if it will take her mind off of Sam, so she can start having a relationship with a man again.
September 1, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Writing Prompt #2
Beth’s disability played a big role in her three siblings’ growth as individuals, but she played a more important role in Rachel’s growth. When Rachel still went to school, everyday Beth would wait outside their house for Rachel’s school bus to approach and every time, Rachel would dread being seen with her because to her, Beth was an embarrassment. Rachel has a more understanding of Beth now that they have been together for a year. Their dad becomes stressed out with Beth because of her behavior and becomes burdened when the family starts worrying about what Beth should do with her life since “she shouldn’t spend her life on the sofa.” Although Rachel, Laura, and Max “care about their sister’s well-being,” they know that Beth, being the sibling of a person with special needs, will have to do something about her life or else “someday she will end up living with one of us [them]. Whenever Rachel was not feeling positive about her sister, a dark voice would start speaking inside her head, yelling at Beth of things Rachel doesn’t want to say out loud to her. Though I haven’t known other siblings of people with disabilities, but I’ve seen the parents of people with disabilities when I was working. I saw that the parent was very patient when taking care of their child. They paid no attention to those who looked at them strangely.
September 2, 2008 at 12:16 am
Writing Prompt #4
Beth and Jesse seem to have a better relationship with each other than Sam and Rachel does. Mental disability is portrayed as being a significant factor in Beth and Jesse’s compatibility. I think it was unfair for Beth the way Rachel’s family handled her burgeoning sexuality, but it was for her own good. If she doesn’t know how to take care of herself, it will be that much harder to take care of an infant. I never really questioned the way adults with disabilities had relationships, but I always thought that those with mental disabilities have it harder to have a relationship with someone of the opposite sex. I thought it would be harder for them to understand one another because they have a mind of a younger child, but I guess not. Beth and Jesse understand each other better than any other couple with no mental disability.
September 2, 2008 at 2:37 am
I agree with Cherry on (August 30, 2008 at 9:00 pm) when she says that the quote ” the power to observe is the power to learn” because by observing Beth Rachel learned more then she tought she knew about her sister. not only that but she also learned alot about herself, for instance the fact that she didn’t really like to be alone and always working and as lonely as she was she still did not want to face reality so she used her whole living just working and working more. But Beth different way of understanding things basically opened Rachel mind to changing some aspects of her life.