Women truck drivers have been hitting the highway for decades, but few embark on a professional driving career at the ripe age of 50, like Pat Minnick. Her memoir, Don't Park on the Poodle, is loaded with humorous snapshots of her 24 years driving a tractor-trailer throughout the United States and Canada. As the miles and years roll by, Minnick unpacks memorable experiences with animals (squirrels, gators, and the mysterious "batfish") and people (friendly French Canadians, Ken and Barbie, and the odd bozo, as she puts it), offering a happy-go-lucky female point of view of the long-distance freight-trucking industry. Each page of Don't Park on the Poodle is an entertaining ride, packed with Minnick's colorful Georgia vernacular and wry humor. Readers are sure to crack a smile at this lively and vivacious read. They'll also come away with a newfound appreciation for drivers, like Minnick, who haul the goods we rely on in our lives, from food and clothing to pharmaceuticals and yes, batfish.
