Story Circle Network

Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

January 2005

Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey
Rachel Simon

This perceptive, uplifting chronicle shows how much Simon, a creative writing professor at Bryn Mawr College, had to learn from her mentally retarded sister, Beth, about life, love and happiness...

From www.rachelsimon.com/readersguide.pdf:

  1. Discuss Rachel and Beth's relationship at the outset of the book: What do you think was the motivation for Beth's request? Did their tension reflect tensions that you have felt with family members? At the end of the book how have Rachel and Beth changed?

  2. Why does Beth love riding the buses? What does she gain from this ad hoc community? Does our understanding of her devotion to the buses deepen over the course of the book, and if so, how does Simon make that happen? Have you known other people who are devoted to an activity that you do not understand? How did your understanding of Beth's bus riding affect your thoughts about those other people?

  3. How do the italicized sections of the book, which relay Rachel and Beth's family history, inform the present-day chapters, situations and events, and relationships?

  4. What is your opinion of Rachel's mother? Her father? Do you sympathize with each or do you judge each?

  5. Who are your favorites among the bus drivers? What does each contribute to Beth's daily rides? Describe Beth's "falling out" with men such as Claude, Henry, and Cliff. How does Rachel's need for the bus drivers' insight and kindness compare to Beth's? How do her relationships with them differ from Beth's, or do they at all? What do you think the bus drivers gain from their friendships with Beth, and subsequently, Rachel?

  6. What do you think about Beth's romantic relationship with Jesse? How does their relationship compare with what you know of Sam and Rachel's relationship? Is mental disability portrayed as being a significant factor in Beth and Jesse's compatibility? What did you think of the way Rachel's family handled Beth's burgeoning sexuality, and Beth's annual reminder to Rachel: "Its TEn years since I cant Have a baBy?" Did learning about Beth and Jesse's relationship affect the way you view adults with disabilities? How?

  7. What kind of a man is Jesse? What kind of a role does he play in Rachel's life, let alone Beth's? Discuss his and Beth's relationship in light of their racial differences, and how they handle their commitment to one another in the face of social opposition. What do you think of Jesse's definition of love?

  8. Is the book enhanced by the inclusion of Beth's letters?

  9. Discuss the various explorations of language that occur throughout the book. What do you think about People First Language? The epithet that Rachel hears her classmates use in school? Did you find yourself questioning your own way of speaking, in the past or present? What is Beth's definition of "cool"? Why does Simon elaborate on Beth's three different meanings for "I don't know"? How does all of this discussion of language expand the larger themes of Beth's struggle for independence and Rachel's struggle to accept Beth?

  10. Discuss the ramifications of Rachel's outburst near the culmination of the memoir, where she blurts out "I hate you," in response to Beth's surly, inhospitable demeanor. What does this heat-of-the-moment admission do to both sisters? What kind of change does it invoke in Beth's behavior, and what does it reveal to Rachel about her own feelings? How does it alter their relationship? Why did Simon include it?

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