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| Category: Autobiography |
(requires Adobe Reader)
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| About the Book | |
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Snaps tells the story of Pat O’Rourke and her parents who lived almost literally in an unusual car, a 1922 custom Buick designed for a General Motors official who used it to go hunting in the wilds of Michigan. It could sleep at least four adults comfortably. The O’Rourkes traveled in the car, camping in National Parks and touring the forty-eight states and their capitals and historic sites. When the weather was not comfortable for touring, they usually stayed in California where Pat’s playground was the Muscle Beach in Santa Monica. Crossing the county almost every year, they kept in close touch with family on both sides. So although Pat spent very little time in school, she had close relationships with cousins and grandparents. The families were both Irish, immigrating in 1825 and 1890. Their stories reveal some 19th century history. Stories about travel in a very sparsely populated west in an elderly car describe frequent flat tires that required repair beside rough roads. There was very little traffic; travel was so different from today’s experience that there is a kind of culture shock. Included in the book are a number of photographs that have survived more than 80 years. The author developed some impressions of the kind of education she received as a result of her unusual childhood. She spent very little time in school during the thirties, but she attended a number of widely different ones. However, most of her life was “home schooling” although the term had not been invented yet.
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| About the Author | |
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As her memoir details, Pat spent her first ten years traveling all over the United States, wintering in Santa Monica and Delray . Her father’s death and WWII resulted in her living in Philadelphia with her mother and grandmother. Being an English major has shaped her life. |