Copyright Date:
2006
Edition Date:
2008
Release Date:
01/31/06
Pages:
x, 331 pages
ISBN:
0-553-38264-0
ISBN 13:
978-0-553-38264-8
Dewey:
Fic
LCCN:
2005053176
Dimensions:
21 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist
(Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2006)
Annie passes away at the youthful age of 56, leaving her high-school friend, Katherine, responsible for organizing her traveling funeral. Katherine receives a UPS package with Annie's favorite pair of red high-top sneakers, which contain her ashes, and instructions to contact four other women who played pivotal roles in her life. All of the women either have met or heard of each other through Annie, and all agree to fulfill her request that they fly across the country together and disperse her ashes at places meaningful to Annie. The women encounter beauty in unlikely places and people who either knew Annie or were somehow touched by her, causing the women to miss Annie all the more and reevaluate themselves and their missed opportunities. The funeral party turns into a true celebration of the deceased and her wonderful life. Once again, Radish celebrates women's inimitable friendships in an ode to sisterhood that will make her many fans rejoice.
Kirkus Reviews
<p>A life-affirming depiction of female bonding that's often overblown and tiresome.</p>
The beloved author of Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn returns with the story of five women who had nothing in common but one extraordinary friend. . . .
“Move over, Thelma, and make way, Louise! Annie Freeman's raucous and heart-tugging journey to eternity will put Kris Radish on the map—in a RED Cadillac!”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request—a traveling funeral—and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.”
From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets—tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them. . . .
Praise for Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral
“Radish’s characters help readers realize they are not alone in the world and their struggles have been or will be experienced by other women.”—Albuquerque Journal
“Radish sings the praises of sisterhood by creating an enticing world of women helping women to become the empowered individuals they were meant to be.”—Booklist