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.
Reviewed by David Jaggart for Readers' Favorite
Somewhere West of the Last Porch Light by Billy Scrape chronicles his family’s nomadic journey across the United States. Traveling inside a short bus, the author recalls the real, everyday headaches of road trips blended with intense reflections on his early adulthood. The chapters show a stark contrast between his current role as a father and his past experiences with substance abuse, mock weddings in a former funeral parlor, and an honor-system friendship with an unseen Portland bookseller. The travel aspect comes to life during stressful moments, like waiting out a three-day repair behind a South Dakota junkyard bar. While the mechanics work on the bus, the children pass the time bonding with the workshop cats. The book tracks these small, heartfelt events rather than famous tourist destinations, focusing on places like the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the alpine fields near the Grey’s River Road. Ultimately, this memoir focuses on the inner adjustments required to move past one’s youth and accept a quieter lifestyle.
Somewhere West of the Last Porch Light by Billy Scrape is an essay collection that moves with a surprisingly brisk, episodic momentum. The writing bounces effortlessly between turbulent memories from the nineteen-eighties and the calmer reality of driving through the night with a grown son. Scrape avoids overly complex language, choosing an unpretentious, direct tone so that the roadside garages and remote highways come alive with clarity. His observations about past personal failures and damaged friendships are delivered with refreshing honesty. The book avoids self-pity, balancing old reckless behaviors with the predictable, repetitive rhythms of marriage and parenthood. The inclusion of sudden vehicle emergencies brings a nice sense of unpredictability to the chapters without affecting the momentum too much. It is a genuine, unforced look at aging and finding a sense of belonging in unfamiliar places. If you’re a fan of honest, open-road memoirs, you’ll likely read the whole collection in one sitting.
