This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Jerry Steimel was born in Louisville, Kentucky where he spent his youth as well as his undergraduate college years at the University of Louisville. The author departed Louisville in 1974 to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago where he received his Masters in Social Work. He had a forty-five year career in youth work working in a variety of settings serving disadvantaged youth. These included the court system of Chicago, a residential program in Maine, an outdoor adventure program in Massachusetts and he was Director of a shelter for runaway teens in the Boston area. The final years of his career he worked for Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston as Executive Vice-President of Operations. He is married and has two daughters. Now retired, he lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts when he is not wandering the country in his 1973 VW bus.
Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Readers' Favorite
Chasing Zorba: A Journey of Self-Discovery in a VW Bus, by Jerry Steimel, is an intriguing travelogue of introspection and fulfilling a lifelong dream. The Vietnam War is a powder keg in America, along with other social issues, and the author has just finished college. It's 1972, and he launches into a road trip in his 1966 Volkswagon Beetle, aka Zorba, so named because he was inspired philosophically by the literary figure to live in the moment and be fearless. He has the country spread out before him and hopes for true adventure, traveling country roads, leaving Kentucky behind for better insight into who he is and who he might become. California is his goal and it's a long way off. But the journey was over after a VW malfunction and an unfruitful 30-day stay in Florida. He had to return home and pack away his dream in favor of a social work career and a family life. Skip ahead forty-five years and he picked up his dream again in 2017, finding a VW bus and heading out.
Steimel's writing is engaging and friendly, pulling readers into the scenes right away, offering insightful observations during the author's road trip. Does he have the same mindset? He's older now; retired. Is he wiser? Is he still idealistic? Has the country changed over the years? I like the bird's-eye-view you get of the author's life, and the various cultures around America, his discoveries, disappointments, and memories. His personal anecdotes give you a chance to get inside the author's skin and experience things the way he did, and the images are a nice addition. This is an insightful slice-of-life memoir that holds a mirror up to America's politics, culture, people, and the author himself. Steimel's sense of humor is a constant thread that runs through the narrative. You will experience the ups with the downs, and, being a former social worker, I felt a sort of connection with the author. By the time you reach the end of Chasing Zorba by Jerry Steimel, you may feel as though you've just finished "The Great American Novel" in non-fiction form.
