Review: The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian #TheLeisureSeeker @tlcbooktours

by Susan Roberts

This was such a wonderful book full of beautiful writing that I'm not sure a movie can do it justice.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2010; William Morrow;
978-0061671791
audio, ebook, print (272 pages); humor

The movie based on this book is due to be released on January 19, 2018.  Here is a quick synopsis of the movie: The film stars Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren and two-time Golden Globe-winner Donald Sutherland as a runaway couple going on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker, travelling from Boston to The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.

One of the main differences is that in the book, the two main characters escape from their home in Detroit and take a road trip to Disneyland, following Route 66 as much as possible.

Ella and John are in their 80s, they have been married for over 60 years and both have end of life health problems - John has Alzheimers and Ella has cancer.  Ella feels that they need one more camping trip together so they sneak away from their home in Detroit, their two concerned children and their doctors and take a road trip.  As they travel, John often has no clue where they are or who Ella is.  Ella is fighting constant pain but feels the need to forge ahead and make it to the Pacific.  Does this sound depressing?  Believe me, it's anything but depressing.  It's thoughtful and funny and fantastically entertaining.  Ella tells the story and she is so funny that there were parts of the story that made me laugh out loud.  She also made many observations that really made me think about life will be like in those final years.

“Why does the world have to destroy anything that doesn't fit in? We still can’t figure out this is the most important reason to love something.”

“Anyone who never met a man he didn't like just isn't trying hard enough.”

“After a while, just staying alive becomes a full-time job. No wonder we need a vacation.”

This is a wonderful, well-written book about the final road trip of an elderly couple who want to be together and having fun until the end.  It proves that when it comes to life, you can go back for seconds—even when everyone says you can't.

Buy The Leisure Seeker at Amazon

About the Author

Michael Zadoorian is the author of Second Hand and The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit: Stories.
Find out more about Michael at his website, and connect with him on Twitter and the Facebook page for The Leisure Seeker.

Also available at HarperCollins and Barnes & Noble

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads,  or Twitter. 

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