Doreen Orion

The cover is beautiful for its theme. The title is great. They match the conventions of a psychological thriller, and I greatly enjoy reading those. This book is a combination of a memoir, a civil procedure law textbook, a criminal law textbook, and a book that helps a person who's being stalked. All of those are a lot for a paperback to handle. Dr Orion's book fails at it. It's a strange combination, anyway.

But when this book first came out in 1997, I firmly believe it helped many, many show more people. This book is a time capsule and I'm so glad a variety of societies have progressed since then, with such better technological access, information and social views. This book is at the same time hopelessly outdated and Dr Orion's memoir reads like she's pleading for the audience to believe her, when she's not delivering walls o' text. Sometimes it's checklists. Sometimes it's state laws, word for word, as they were when the book was written more than twenty years ago. I believe Dr Orion, and also find the way parts of the book were put together to be annoying. Totally separate from everything else in the book: Dr Orion seemed condescending of her patients despite repeatedly claiming to be in love with her work. Did--did she only want people whose lives were drastically improved solely with one medication and the dosage instantly correct or something? Because she really seems, in some places, to only have patients with "easy" illnesses and treatment plans. Schizophrenia and related diseases do not tend to be easy to treat at first. While her ordeal must have been awful, I'm not blaming her for it. That is not the issue I'm trying to address when I mean--oh, whatever.

Another Goodreads review suggests watching a 2002 French film that is available on Amazon with terrific English subtitles: I watched "He Loves Me, He Loves me Not" a few weeks before reading this book. It's a great start for learning about erotomania, as the reviewer points out. It's not scary at all, I note, so don't expect a psychological thriller. Don't expect one from this book, either. show less

I've always had a secret desire to rent a bus/RV and take off across the US and Canada, stopping whenever we see something that looks interesting, staying until we've seen whatever looks interesting. The hubster on the other hand, does not relish the thought of battling traffic in a big box, towing another vehicle and spending all his time hooking up, unhooking, and watching his dollars going down the gas tank drain. So when I saw this book on the e-book deal of the week, I knew this show more vicarious trip would probably be the closest I ever got to this adventure, and hit "buy."

I could totally relate to some of Ms. Orion's travel aversions, but her sense of humor shines through, and although she bills herself as a "princess", her willingness to compromise and follow her husband's suggestions shows us the fun that can be had when two people with a strong marriage embark on a new phase of life together. It's not only a travelogue, but the story of personal growth, and the continued expansion of a very strong love relationship. Altogether a fun read. show less

Doreen Orion, a psychiatrist, was happy with her life in Boulder, CO. A self-proclaimed Long Island Princess, she was content with not only working from home but from the comfort of her own bed, collecting massive amounts of shoes and designer clothing, and bingeing on reality TV. Then her husband Tim (Not so secret identity: Project Nerd for his propensity to attempt everything from household repairs to vehicle maintenance on his own), also a psychiatrist, decided to follow his dream of show more touring the U.S. on a converted bus. Disarmed by her husband's cunning (she still doesn't quite know how she was persuaded to do something she wouldn't consider doing in a "million years") Orion agrees to the plan and finds herself attempting to cram all the trappings of her old life onto a bus for a year long jaunt about the country. Orion's tale of traversing the country in the bus with her husband, pets (two cats, one poodle), and one hundred pairs of shoes is laugh out loud funny, informative, and even a bit enlightening about what the true makings of the "good life" are.

Each chapter is headed up with a different martini recipe useful for laughs and self-medicating for any bus phobia that may arise. From Florida to Alaska, Orion chronicles their adventure including details of their many destinations from the tasty to the kitschy to the downright scenic. Hilarity ensues as the bus malfunctions, hikes complete with frightening birds and bugs are attempted, and appropriate nudist RV park behavior is contemplated. Orion brings her wit to the best and worst of situations.

Best of all, though, is the bigger journey Orion ends up taking as she shuffles off her old life of couch potato materialism in favor of getting out and living life instead of watching it on TV. Watching Orion progress from someone whose stuff seems to own her to someone who begins to see that there is much more to life than things as she embraces the experiences the trip has to offer her is a rewarding experience and worthwile lesson that we can all stand to learn and relearn again. For Doreen and Tim, the trip turns out to be life-changing as their priorities are rearranged to accomodate the friendships they'd been missing out on, the simple joy of getting up in the morning excited about what the day has to offer, and the quality time together that enriches their relationship.

The chapter about their trip to Tim's father's house in rural Arkansas is especially hilarious. Also very nifty... Orion includes a list (with comments!) of many of their destinations complete with website addresses and contact information to help in your own vacationing as well as a list of the books she enjoyed while on the trip and beyond. What book lover couldn't love that?

Overall - a great read that might well have you planning a road trip and maybe even considering re-arranging a few your own misguided priorities. show less

When Doreen Orion wrote, on yoga, "What was the point of putting that much effort into doing something, just to think about nothing, when I was already so adept at thinking about nothing without making any effort at all?", I knew she was my kind of person. (I've tried yoga. I like the stretching. I don't like the premise. Like Doreen, the only way I can handle exercise is if I've got lots of things to distract me while I'm doing it.)

"Queen of the Road" is a book about a married couple who show more takes a year to travel the country in a retro-converted bus, with a dog and two cats. So it's a travel diary, in a way. But it felt more like a nice long talk with an old friend, the kind you don't get to see very often but is actually one of your favorite people in the world.

This "true tale of 47 states" was, there is no other word for it, a delight to read. From the first page to the last, Doreen's self-deprecating wit and humor, her honesty, and her dry sense of the absurd formed, for me, an instant bond between author and reader. I laughed out loud, not once, not a few times, but at least once a chapter, at something she'd said -- and not because the book is so outrageously funny, but because, as with the yoga quote above, I knew *exactly* what she meant and felt *exactly* the same way. And while some of that may be because we have a few preferences in common, I think it's mostly because Doreen is so honest, and says, in this book, exactly what she was thinking -- and what so many of us would as well in the same situation.

The writing is excellent and engaging, and the book was, unfortunately, a quick read; I was sorry when it was over, though the story comes to a natural end when Doreen and Tim's journey is over. The author's web site, www.doreenorion.com, has videos from her travels and her blog, which is well worth checking out. show less