4 out of 4 stars
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I’m going to be very honest and admit that I usually don’t read autobiographies. It’s one thing to learn about a person’s life and personal thoughts after their death, when everything boils down to speculation. It’s another to have the person themselves write, in big bold letters than cannot be refuted, exactly what they experienced and how they felt. Reading an autobiography is like listening to the radio; someone’s droning on and on in a one-sided conversation that you may or may not care about, and you don’t get the chance to ask questions or divert the conversation to more pleasant topics. Heaven forbid the autobiographer be full of themselves.
Thankfully, on a whim I decided to take a chance with M.D. Carter’s The Little Green Wagon. Nothing about the title gave any clues to its genre. The summary, which promised tales of adventures hiking around America and narrowly avoiding danger and tragedy, drew me in right away. It said right there in the first sentence, “Written by a homeless man,” and yet it took me a few pages to realize that everything in the book had actually happened.
This realization struck me a few times throughout the book. Carter gave the readers a thorough background, detailing his personal history and the start of his addiction, the events that threw him onto cold streets, as well as the sequence of events that led to him finding his soulmate. A long chunk of the book chronicles the adventures they experienced together, criss-crossing the U.S. and spending as much time as possible sequestered from society, soaking in the silence and peace of nature. Along the way, they’re joined by family members, friends, and temporary travel mates. Every time something dramatic or miraculous happened, I was reminded that the book was based on completely real events.
Carter has an amazing memory and prolific writing skills. Every detail of his journeys are written down, from the dates they were in each city to the names of streets they walked along, even the amounts of money they were gifted by benevolent strangers. I can barely remember what I did yesterday, much less events that happened over a decade ago! Although some of the events were terrifying – racial disputes, close-calls with addicts, law enforcement, and Mother Nature herself – I’m sure they’re imprinted in Carter’s memory. They certainly left impressions on me, as well.
Although I was amazed at the number of details, I have to say that sometimes they make the book sound repetitive. We hiked along a road, something happened, we arrived at a gas station, someone gave us money, we ate, packed up, and moved on. Rinse and repeat until something out of the ordinary occurred. Although the book itself was not very long, I think it could have been condensed a little further.
I enjoyed The Little Green Wagon a lot more than I thought I would. I loved reading about the connections they were able to make with complete strangers, although I cringed while reading about some of the experiences Carter and his friends had to go through. The book has definitely made me reflect on myself as a person. If I had been there, what would I have done? All I can say is that I’ll be giving The Little Green Wagon 4 out of 4 stars and recommending it to restless travelers and anyone who I think needs a lesson about how homeless people truly live, although it may trigger readers who have had traumatic experiences or struggle with drug addiction. This book will change your life, if you give it a chance to.
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The Little Green Wagon
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