crooked roads

Crooked Roads explores the transformative encounters I experienced while driving for Uber and Lyft, following a period of profound personal loss. The end of my career as a literature professor, the dissolution of my marriage, and the loss of my home left me adrift. Yet, in the midst of these struggles, I found something unexpected: a renewed sense of connection, resilience, and possibility through my passengers.

The stories I encountered in the confined space of a car are simultaneously personal and universal. From conversations about addiction and recovery to unexpected moments of joy and humor, Crooked Roads is a tapestry of life in America today. It reflects the vulnerability and strength that arise when two strangers meet, revealing the fragile beauty of our shared humanity.

This collection of stories is informed by my background in literature, thirty years of Zen practice, and my lifelong curiosity about people. It’s a memoir of a journey—not just on the road, but toward self-acceptance, humility, and the discovery of new beginnings. Crooked Roads offers readers a fresh perspective on everyday encounters and the unexpected ways they can transform us.

This is the table of contents for Crooked Roads. Each tile represents a part, chapter, or story. The path you take along my Crooked Roads is up to you. But I’ve arranged the tiles below in the order you’d find the corresponding sections if this were a physical book. To read that way, just click on the upper left hand tile. But of course you can also start anywhere. Though there’s a kind of meaning to the sequence I am offering, nothing in the book should depend on anything else in it to make sense. There is nothing to be spoiled. You’ll find navigation buttons at the bottom of each page that will take you to the next section, to a random section, or back here to this table of contents.

Note: I have changed the names of all passengers and of some other identifying details to protect their privacy.