I read about this book on Jen Lancaster's site and picked it up! It was a fun read with lots of laugh out loud moments! Our bookclub has added it on as an 'honors' read for the month of October. (meaning in addition to the original pick!) So far I have heard great feed back about it.
The book even helped me to avoid a speeding ticket! I was driving along at a pretty good clip, not reading mind you, when I passed a Prevost bus conversion on the highway. I had to slow down to check it out and just then came around a corner to see a nice highway patrol with radar pointed right at me!
The book is a fun read and I highly recommend it!
Kristy Peacock

I loved this book!! It was laugh out loud funny, and I got a real feel for the places that Doreen and her husband got to visit. When I was finished reading I was so sad that the trip was over, made me want to go right out,buy a renovated bus and hit the road. Unfortunately not possible for me at this time, but at least I got to live the life vicarously through Doreen's great story telling. One of the things I came away with from this book (besides some really imaginative and delicious sounding martini recipes featured in the beginning of each chapter, so fun and practical!!) was a strong sense of wanderlust, a real desire to see more of this country! Thanks Doreen, looking forward to more stories.

I bought a signed copy at Border's in NYC. I am a huge fan of travel memoirs and this one was a smash. It was part love story, part adventure, a lot of mishaps and a lot of laughs! I really enjoyed seeing how this trip changed both Doreen and her husband. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil the adventure. You won't be let down.
Many thanks to Doreen! Can't wait for your next book!

It is definately not worth five stars. I find that her humor is abit stale, that is unless you enjoy self-depricating humor. I personally don't. I think where whe excels by far is in her description of all the people and sites that she has traversed over her year long trip; they are simply amazing. I am not saying that the book couldn't be a five star book for someone else but for me it left a bit something lacking. Do pick it up you will be glad that you did, remember one man's trash is another man's gold.

So take a skeptical homebody psychiatrist and throw her on a careening bus with an optimistic adventuring psychiatrist and what do you get? A fabulous, faceted read that keeps the chuckles coming. The book is not only hilariously sarcastic, but also offers a sensitive look into the lives of two people reconnecting and prioritizing and just being brave and up for something new. Doreen makes no excuses for the person she is (a "Queen from the Island of Long") and pet lovers out there will truly appreciate the hijinks involving pets on a bus! And because Doreen is cerebral, the book isn't just a bunch of silly, funny travel notes; there is depth and conscious contemplation that gives the reader something meaty to hold onto. Enjoy!

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read! I loved every minute of it. From the first page to the last I laughed. I learned some things about our country that I didn't know, and some places I don't want to go. This book is now traveling from friend to friend and we are getting ready to plan a road trip-possibly crazy of us, but awesome all the same. A friend passed this book to me and I decided to take a chance and read something that isn't my "normal" and I will be thankful forever! Take a chance and have fun with this incredibly funny and awesome book!

I have three words for this book - FUN FUN FUN! My son actually passed me this book and said, "Read it, Mom. You will enjoy it". I read it and laughed all the way through. I actually wanted to pack up my animals, get a bus and travel the country. It's nice to see a well written book about the trials and tribulations of spending a year with your spouse, critters and sharing your journey throughout America. Take the bus ride with this book. You will love it.

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read! I loved every minute of it. From the first page to the last I laughed. I learned some things about our country that I didn't know, and some places I don't want to go. This book is now traveling from friend to friend and we are getting ready to plan a road trip-possibly crazy of us, but awesome all the same. A friend passed this book to me and I decided to take a chance and read something that isn't my "normal" and I will be thankful forever! Take a chance and have fun with this incredibly funny and awesome book!

I have three words for this book - FUN FUN FUN! My son actually passed me this book and said, "Read it, Mom. You will enjoy it". I read it and laughed all the way through. I actually wanted to pack up my animals, get a bus and travel the country. It's nice to see a well written book about the trials and tribulations of spending a year with your spouse, critters and sharing your journey throughout America. Take the bus ride with this book. You will love it.

Tim had a wonderful idea. Take a year off from his private psychiatry practice to travel around the country in a converted bus. Now all he had to do was convince his wife...

And so begins Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle a Husband and a Bus with a Will of Its Own. Written by the Tim's wife Doreen (a self proclaimed Long Island Princess and fellow psychiatrist) Queen of the Road is the story of Tim and Doreen's adventures on the open highway. At first Doreen is pretty much appalled by the idea (mostly due to the fact that there is no way she can fit all two hundred pairs of shoes on a bus) but is convinced by Tim to give it a try. Soon enough they are off, with a standard poodle and two cats in tow, on an adventure like no other.

Similar to a travelogue ala Bill Bryson (but written by a feisty, swearing psychiatrist) Queen of the Road is a very humorous, entertaining book about leaving everything behind and trying something new. The fact that the author didn't really WANT to try something new gives this book a little twist throughout. It's pleasant enough to read a book about someones travels, but when that person would rather be sitting in front of the tv in her own home than be on the open road makes for a pretty funny book.

I found that I have very little in common with the author (except for the fact that we both love Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but that didn't deter from my overall enjoyment of Queen of the Road. Sure, I can't really sympathize with a women who would rather be shopping for the newest trend is shoe-wear, but her tell-it-like-it-is style is kind of refreshing. There is nothing fake about the author's writing and even if you don't necessarily agree with her way of life, you can't help but enjoy the book.

Some of my favorite passages:

Myrtle Beach also astounded us by the plethora of swimsuit shops on almost every block. How many people, after all, decide to vacation in a beach community but forget to bring their swimsuits? Evidently, nearly everyone. And, as Time observed, judging from the number of topless bars, apparently a lot of them are men who forgot to bring their wives, as well.

Funny, right? Or how about this one:

We're really not Disney people. I mean, Disney people don't see the Guest Relations kiosk and wonder, "Ya think they sell condoms?" Disney people don't purposely make outlandish faces on the roller coasters, just as the camera snaps a pictures (my favorite: pretending to stick a finger down my throat to gag). Disney people don't scream, "Look! It's a dwarf!"every chance they get, just for the satisfaction of knowing they're in the only place on the planet they can do so and not get dirty looks. (Although Tim did insist on adding, in his best politically correct tone, "They're called little people, sweetie.")

So if you are looking for a laugh-out-loud book to read, check out Queen of the Road.

Travel the US with Doreen and her hubby plus pets in this great adventure. There is never a dull moment and "The Princess from the Island of Long's" interaction with nature proves to keep you on the edge of your bus seat waiting for the next anecdote! One of my favorites is exploring the Alaskan wilderness sans potty but waiting 7 hours for real accommodations--no roughing it for this gal! The best travel book I've read in a long, long time!

Tim had a wonderful idea. Take a year off from his private psychiatry practice to travel around the country in a converted bus. Now all he had to do was convince his wife...

And so begins Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle a Husband and a Bus with a Will of Its Own. Written by the Tim's wife Doreen (a self proclaimed Long Island Princess and fellow psychiatrist) Queen of the Road is the story of Tim and Doreen's adventures on the open highway. At first Doreen is pretty much appalled by the idea (mostly due to the fact that there is no way she can fit all two hundred pairs of shoes on a bus) but is convinced by Tim to give it a try. Soon enough they are off, with a standard poodle and two cats in tow, on an adventure like no other.

Similar to a travelogue ala Bill Bryson (but written by a feisty, swearing psychiatrist) Queen of the Road is a very humorous, entertaining book about leaving everything behind and trying something new. The fact that the author didn't really WANT to try something new gives this book a little twist throughout. It's pleasant enough to read a book about someones travels, but when that person would rather be sitting in front of the tv in her own home than be on the open road makes for a pretty funny book.

I found that I have very little in common with the author (except for the fact that we both love Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but that didn't deter from my overall enjoyment of Queen of the Road. Sure, I can't really sympathize with a women who would rather be shopping for the newest trend is shoe-wear, but her tell-it-like-it-is style is kind of refreshing. There is nothing fake about the author's writing and even if you don't necessarily agree with her way of life, you can't help but enjoy the book.

Some of my favorite passages:

Myrtle Beach also astounded us by the plethora of swimsuit shops on almost every block. How many people, after all, decide to vacation in a beach community but forget to bring their swimsuits? Evidently, nearly everyone. And, as Time observed, judging from the number of topless bars, apparently a lot of them are men who forgot to bring their wives, as well.

Funny, right? Or how about this one:

We're really not Disney people. I mean, Disney people don't see the Guest Relations kiosk and wonder, "Ya think they sell condoms?" Disney people don't purposely make outlandish faces on the roller coasters, just as the camera snaps a pictures (my favorite: pretending to stick a finger down my throat to gag). Disney people don't scream, "Look! It's a dwarf!"every chance they get, just for the satisfaction of knowing they're in the only place on the planet they can do so and not get dirty looks. (Although Tim did insist on adding, in his best politically correct tone, "They're called little people, sweetie.")

So if you are looking for a laugh-out-loud book to read, check out Queen of the Road.

Travel the US with Doreen and her hubby plus pets in this great adventure. There is never a dull moment and "The Princess from the Island of Long's" interaction with nature proves to keep you on the edge of your bus seat waiting for the next anecdote! One of my favorites is exploring the Alaskan wilderness sans potty but waiting 7 hours for real accommodations--no roughing it for this gal! The best travel book I've read in a long, long time!

How do you make a book better?!?! Include martini recipes--and this book did just that:) A funny and entertaining book that makes you want to get outside and start traveling! Great book!

How do you make a book better?!?! Include martini recipes--and this book did just that:) A funny and entertaining book that makes you want to get outside and start traveling! Great book!

I think the best thing about this book was that I heard my voice as well as my friends voices in this so-called Princess. Her charm and honest wit were fantastic. I envy her this trip! Now I've got the travel jones somethin' FIERCE!

I think the best thing about this book was that I heard my voice as well as my friends voices in this so-called Princess. Her charm and honest wit were fantastic. I envy her this trip! Now I've got the travel jones somethin' FIERCE!

Every time I think abut this book I grin. The author writes the way I think, or the way I think I think anyway, witty, self-deprecating in just the right way, cynical but open at the same time. The very thought of being cooped up in that small space for months at a time with someone else, ANYONE else, horrifies me, and yet I could see myself having a good time with the author, her husband, and their animals on this trip. The interesting part of a memoir is always how the writer changes from beginning to end, and this can often feel forced or false, but I never felt that way with Orion. Her self-examination and oft times slightly harsh evaluation of her life before the bus felt genuine and touching. A great book club book, highly recommended.

Queen of the Road is my favorite book ever. I haven't laughed so hard in AGES! Hearing about Doreen's experiences with giving up THINGS and enjoying the simple things in life, confirmed my belief that it's not the things in life that make life special, it's spending time with those who are dear to our hearts. Traveling in a bus with pets was such a riot to hear about! What an experience! Thank you for writing this book!!!!!! For all of you, you're doing yourself a favor when you get this book for yourself or a friend. You'll laugh all the way through it and thank Doreen for putting the words down for us to enjoy.

The best book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 78 year old mother, is reading this book now, and I am posting this review on her behalf. She loves this book, and when she first started reading it she told me that it reminds us all to live our dreams now. Here is what she has to say:

"I find this book very, very enjoyable...the author is living one of my own personal life dreams of meandering through the country by bus. Many times I have laughed out loud at the things that Ms. Orion says in the book. I am on chapter four and I hope this book never ends. When it does end, I will read it over again; as it has helped me rekindle the joy of reading which has become more difficult for me since my last stroke. I have not tried any of her drinks just yet, but I will sometime!"

I felt I was along for the ride. It was a great read and I found myself turning on my bedside lamp to read another chapter in the middle of the night. Once I found out her husband had some "farm history" to share, I immediately felt some kinship. Choosing to travel with three pets in a brand new customized bus seemed to me to be a real challenge, but this couple seemed to manage very well. I suggest you do go to her Website AFTER you have read the book to SEE the bus, the pets, etc. I recommend the book to guys and gals alike. I will keep this book on my shelf as I am sure I will choose to read it again in the future.

Okay, how could you not want to pick up this new title from Broadway Books ??? The cover and subtitle grabbed me, but I was captivated in the first 10 pages of this travel memoir from Doreen Orion.

Both Orion and her husband Tim Justice are practicing psychiatrists. Tim is still seeing patients in an office setting while Doreen consults from home for insurance companies etc. Tim is a busy guy, always with a project on the go. He enjoys the outdoors as well. On the other hand, Doreen is more than happy to stay in her pajamas, work from home, watch television and never leave the house. Her record is 118 hours in without stepping a foot outside. Two seemingly polar opposites.

Without quite knowing how it happened, Doreen agrees to Tim's dream - to travel across America in a bus for a year. That's right - a bus. But what a bus it is! (Take note that their bus ends up being the September centerfold for Bus Conversions magazine.)

Orion is an extremely funny woman. I was laughing out loud right from the beginning and wondered if she could keep it up throughout the book.....she did.

After an initial 3 week test run, they set out. Not everything goes quite to plan - the bus has some issues and so does Doreen - she's terrified of the bus.

With a fantastic sense of humour, Orion describes the trip, her relationship with Tim, the people they meet and the situations they find themselves in.

Just a few weeks into the trip they notice a shift in their outlooks and attitudes.

"Getting to the top of the bell tower reaffirmed for me that Tim and I were making new choices about how to live our lives and whether it was finding time for that climb or putting our careers on hold, we were doing things differently that we had in the past, giving us hope that the lessons learned on the road about what was truly valuable might just stick".

And this is really the essence of the book. How do you want to live your life and what is really important? As we follow Tim and Doreen's travels, you start to look at your own life and wonder what you could do a little bit differently.

It's also a love story. They are together 24/7 for a year. Although they already have a good marriage, they rediscover each other on the road.

Fascinating as well is the ongoing travelogue. The places they visit are detailed, and an appendix gives web addresses for many of the places.

I love a good travel memoir and this was one of the best I've read. This would be a great selection for a book club. There is a thoughtful list of discussion questions to get you started at the end. ( Oh - and a cocktail recipe at the beginning of every chapter!) As well, Orion will attend your book group - either in person or by speakerphone.

The idea of a boat trip was bandied about at the end of the book. Sounds like a great idea Doreen and Tim - can't wait to hear what adventure you embark on next! You can always follow along at Doreen's blog.

Talk about terrific summer reading! Queen of the Road is a hilarious, easy read. Doreen Orion had me laughing out loud as she humorously related the adventures, and misadventures, she and her husband had in a year-long bus trip across America. There are also touching moments as Orion traces the parallel journey of self-discovery that the trip inspires in both she and her husband. Between her wonderful description of the sites they see, her funny portrayals of Project Nerd (her husband) and her own mounting bus phobia, and her reflections on the way they and others choose to live their lives, I never wanted to put this book down. I would highly recommend Queen of the Road to any reader.

I read the book in a few sittings and could barely put it down. I could find much to relate to: loving to sometimes work at home in PJs, remembering to appreciate my husband for his great qualities, the willingness to take an adventure, etc. On one part of the trip, Doreen gets her hair cut by Nick Arrojo from TLC's TV show "What Not to Wear." This inspired me to make a trip with my 20-something daughters to get our hair cut by Nick. Nick was fabulous, and it was a great bonding experience with my daughters. By the end of the book, you will be sorry the trip is over, but you will still chuckle when remembering some of Doreen's experiences (e.g., trying to close the door of the RV while it was moving.)

So buy it, read it, enjoy it, tell your friends, and then do something adventurous in the spirit of the Queen of the Road!

Never a dull moment on this ride. Two psychiatrists pack up and set off on a road trip around the U.S. on a retrofitted bus. Doreen Orion's wonderfully hilarious book is part travelogue, part late-night monologue, part inspirational memoir and part love story. For anyone who has wanted to throw caution to wind and do something against their better judgment, this book just might give you that final nudge you need. And for the rest of us, living vicariously through the adventure with this crew is well worth the trip.

This book is categorized as travel, although I feel that is a bit misleading. Yes, the bulk of the book takes places on a converted bus making its way around the country. Yes, there are valuable travel tips (such has don't waste your money going to see Southfork). But the really core of this book is about self-discovery. Doreen Orion, a "Princess of the Island of Long," is not a roughing-it kind of gal. Yet, she somehow lets her husband convince her that they need to spend a year traveling the country in a converted bus.

They meet all sorts of people, they see it all, they eat everything but the biggest thing is that Orion reevaluates her life and her priorities. She does not need 100 pairs of shoes, shocking as that may seem. She can actually leave the house--especially in a bus with internet access and a television.

One of the reasons we travel is to expand our lives and Doreen Orion did just that.

Thank you to Doreen Orion for filling several hours with such wonderful humor and fun. I laughed out loud so many times that I know it was great therapy! I love the way the book winds through life's journeys coincidently with her bus travels, becoming a very thoughtful book as well. Plus my husband would love to drive cross-country in an RV and the prospect of that trip has always unsettled me, so I truly had some measure of empathy for Doreen's bus phobia. Maybe I could just give my husband this book to read instead? I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

Queen of the Road by Doreen Orion is an incredibly written journey of a psychiatrist's reluctant year long trip around the United States with her psychiatrist husband, several pets, and hundreds of shoes in a remodeled bus. It is an often moving story, always funny, and impossible to put down. And the best part is that I feel that I, too, have traveled around the country, from the comfort of my couch!

This is a good book. What at first appears to be just good fun is actually a lovingly crafted paean to a deserving spouse and an ever strengthening love. Between out-loud laughs and delightful word play one can actually gain insights not only into the fertile mind of Ms. Doreen Orion, but also into the nature of functional relationships in general.
The craft is worthy of a Bill Bryson, with the same kind of educational vignettes, asides, and entertaining insights about people and places encountered on the bus journey. I'm buying multiple copies as gifts because nobody's getting mine.

"Queen of the Road" is a wonderful, riveting saga of a reluctant adventure on the road, interwoven with cementing what seems to be a wonderful and solid elationship.

Doreen's book is just plain fun. If you've ever owned an RV (or possibly saw Robin William's RV movie), then you'll find yourself somewhere in this book.

For those who enjoy a bit of variety in your alcoholic beverages, each chapter starts with a new drink, invented for the chapter to follow.

Doreen has a fun wit and humor which makes for a wonderful read. I just wish I had a year to take off and to tour this great nation as they did. I will admit to being a bit jealous.

Buy it. Enjoy it. Share it with your friends.

I loved this book, particularly the recipes! The writer manages to capture your attention quickly and keeps it from start to finish. This is one of the few books I have not been able to plow through in one sitting because it is so well-written and funny. A must read for a beach trip, long weekend, or anytime you want to relax with a nice cocktail.

I grabbed this book and headed for my RV, parked in the driveway...(an RV my husband purchased on the sly). This book had me laughing with glee and anticipating the next adventure Doreen and Tim would find. I dont remember the last time I had such fun being by myself and enjoying a book so much. As another self-described "shut-in", I think I'm ready to get this RV on the road instead of using it as my personal lair. Thanks Doreen for a wonderful trip around the states with you and your family.

The Mortalist

Doreen Orion's new book, Queen of the Road, truly rocks on down the road. It's the styling way to motorhome, told from the size-8 Blahniks of a former New York sophisticato, an indoor girl who loves her Western paramour enough to brave the highway. Brave it, that is, in a towering electronically-tricked-out block-long luxwagen that made at least one non-styling reader more than happy to climb up into the driver's seat and share their varied and manifold misadventures, on a ride that goes from ironic to heartfelt to wise.
Road Trip meets Chick Lit meets Diesel Hip (the last genre now a subset of Gas-Price Porn): something for everybody who wants, at least from an armchair, to once more hit those long, rolling, horizon-bound lanes.
--Barry Burnett, MD [...]

This is one of those great summer books that you can read and laugh along to while turning the pages. When two shrinks and their pets set out for a year-long adventure across the country in a converted bus, you just know fun is around the corner.

Whether letting it all hang out in a nudist camp or hiding under a restaurant table during a hold-up, Doreen Orion makes it all seem like an adventure. And what an adventure it is!

Where can I sign up to take a road trip with this woman?? This book was so good, and I have since passed it on to a co-worker who, twenty pages in, is loving it as well.

Doreen tells of her adventures in a Prevost bus traveling across America with her husband Tim. The problems, people, and situations that they encounter are revealed by her in a manner that is both funny and exciting. You can feel yourself on the bus with Doreen and Tim and their 2 cats, 1 poodle, and 200 pairs of shoes! I loved the read!

I expected to love Doreen Orion's QUEEN OF THE ROAD--and to connect at a personal level. I was not disappointed. This book is a light-hearted romp with depth.

Doreen's story bears some similarity to my own. A female shrink, happily married and settled comfortably into her life, goes on an unexpected midlife journey, emerges transformed--and writes a memoir about her experiences.

Doreen's adventures center on a converted bus, piloted by her psychiatrist husband Tim, who has talked her into a cross country road trip. My own journey started out more humbly: in a down-at-the-heels white Dodge van, with a singing Cajun tour guide at the wheel. My Louisiana swamp tour marked the beginning of a life-changing love affair with Cajun music. So I know for myself the liberating effects of stepping outside the familiar routines of our lives.

Doreen takes us on a wild and wacky yearlong journey through most of the fifty states. Our tour guide is a smart-mouthed "princess from the Island of Long" who spares no one (especially herself) in her tart observations, whether she's in the middle of a nudist RV park or an armed robbery. She's the sassy kid sister or cool best friend with a wicked sense of humor--the one who dares to say the things most of us keep to ourselves.

Consider her jaundiced view of the great outdoors. She has a face-off (more precisely, a "shoe-off") with a competitive bird-watcher at a Florida wildlife refuge. She pronounces hiking "boring" because the scenery changes so slowly. And then there's the priceless chapter on Alaska, where the fabled Mt. Denali is rarely visible at Denali Park, and the famous Dall sheep ("the friggin' sheep") turn out to be "little white dots on a hill."

Doreen turns an equally sharp eye on herself. Early in the trip, she begins to question her attachment to the material trappings of life--especially her shoes (all 200 of them!) and her designer labels. But even if you're not a Material Girl, you may feel a twinge of recognition when she quietly notes some of her other failings. She's a psychiatrist who runs short of compassion in her daily life. A writer who doesn't read enough. A loving wife who lets her affable husband do the housework--and who sometimes tunes him out when he goes on too long about his "projects." She catches herself looking down on people who seem "different"--like the RV park crowd--and finds people obsessed with a grand passion a little quirky. Then she begins to reconsider. Her worldview slowly starts to shift.

Make no mistake about it: This hilarious book is a story of personal transformation. Along with the humor, wacky stories, crazy characters, travel notes, and martini recipes, Dr. Doreen delivers some important life lessons. Like any good therapist, she has a light hand--and perfect timing. She waits until your defenses are down and delivers the message without being heavy-handed or preachy.

Doreen's major epiphany is not a surprise. It starts early in the journey, after a bus mishap. "Everything is replaceable." The material trappings that have defined her life are not so important. Everything follows from that.

At the end of the journey, Doreen is determined to hold on to "the bus thing." In a fascinating coda, she gives us a glimpse into how her life--and Tim's--have changed since the trip. While not dramatic, her shifts are significant and heartfelt. She offers a few more guideines: Feelings and experiences, family and friends, are more important than things. The journey is more important than the destination.

Simple truths, perhaps--but the important ones usually are.

A five star book--for summer, or any time of year!

She's funny period.

Two shrinks, a bus, a poodle, two cats, shoes, negged people. What's not to love? I have always loved travel-logs and this is now one of my faves!

A rollicking memoir, QUEEN OF THE ROAD reads like letters from a (very funny) traveling friend who points out every memorable experience, restaurant, and view along the way -- as well as the misdirected detours no one should have to endure. But QUEEN OF THE ROAD is also a tribute to the wonders of adventures outside one's comfort zone, to the loved ones who enrich our lives, to our own strength and fortitude despite so many frazzling phobias. Plus, it's a riotous ride. Enjoy!

"Soon I couldn't take it anymore and rather dramatically announced I was going to the back of the bus to kill myself. As always, Tim brought me back to earth. This time with the observation, "So I guess you'll be in the bathroom, trying to slit your wrists with your electric razor?""

Considering how different Doreen Orion and her husband Tim Justice are, the fact that they are both psychiatrists and able to analyze each other may have prevented a journey to divorce court. Tim being one of the world's most patient men probably helped too.

She, the princess from the Island of Long who is happy to stay in her pajamas and work from her bedroom all day, is a martini drinking shoe addict. He is an easygoing, beer-loving outdoorsman, dedicated to his patients and practice. When he finally convinces her to take a year off and wander around the country in a 340 SF bus, everyone is stunned - including Doreen.

This isn't just any old bus. It's a converted Prevost (the kind rock stars use) with a hand blown glass sink in the bathroom, rare granite countertops, cherry cabinets, stainless steel tiles, full refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer combo, a custom appliqué ceiling, merino wool window coverings, and every electronic device known to man. It's furnished and equipped better than my house!

The shakedown trip almost does her in, but somehow he convinces her to only take 100 of her favorite pairs of shoes and head out on a journey that will cover 22,000 miles and 47 states.

Each chapter of the book starts with a new cocktail she has invented to reflect her mood on that particular leg of the journey. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Hurlatini
1 part rum
2 parts Midori
1 splash pineapple juice
1 splash sweet `n Sour
1 white-knuckled squeeze of lime
Pound martini shaker against emergency exit until window breaks or ingredients sufficiently mixed for tasty self-medication.

Love Me Bender
2 parts passion fruit liqueur
2 parts champagne
1 part raspberry liqueur
Rest shaker on hip, gyrate, drink. If you can still recall the love of your life is making you live on a bus, repeat.

It's a wonderful book filled with humor, love and transformation. By the end of the journey, they still love each other, both have mellowed, and Doreen finds she can do without many of life's "necessities" when she realizes she only wore 6 of the 100 pairs of shoes.

"Queen of the Road" is a fun, easy read, appropriate for both sexes. I highly recommend it.

Queen of the Road by Doreen Orion made me want to travel the U.S. immediately. Instead I read the book again and drank a martini.

Queen of the Road is about a reluctant traveler, her husband and their pets touring on their own tricked out bus for a year of sight seeing in the U.S. It's filled with wacky people and places you get to experience from the comfort of your own home without the expense of buying gas. A real laugh riot and witty writing with a surprising transformation from the author.

Husband and wife are both psychiatrists. Maybe this is how that set chills out. Interestingly, their marriage is strengthened by the stress and ultimate personal discovery.

The book includes martini recipes throughout which I found quite helpful and tasty. The author found them useful too to calm her nerves.

You don't want to miss this trip.

While this book really made me want to realize my dream of traveling around the United States, it is so much more than just a travel memoir. It is a book about self discovery, it's a book that will make you laugh out loud, as well as a story about a beautiful romance. It also made me wish I could realize my dream of having a handyman for a husband. It seems that engineers don't make great "Project nerds". This is a must read for every book club. Every woman will be able to relate to something in the book, whether it's the love of shoes, the benefits you receive when you're willing to compromise with your husband or the reflection of personal growth when you've put yourself out there.

Doreen Orion, in her book - Queen of the Road has captured the wild adventure of living on a bus and wrapped it up in page after page of laughs. She uses her flaws and foibles openly to draw in the reader, making it seem as though we are right there with her. Bus Butt and all. As the story unfolds, she shifts from self proclaimed Princess and shoe worshipper to someone who appreciates a night sky and no-TV dinners, reminding us that there is more to life than this crazy game we live in.

In this road trip that will have you laughing out loud, Orion spares no one from her razor-sharp wit - least of all herself. If I thought all psychiatrists were this entertaining, I'd actually try therapy. Absent that, and with the price of gas this summer, save yourself some bucks and get on this bus trip, heading from Maine to Key West to Alaska, instead. Like Sedaris, there's also some hysterical social commentary. My favorite lines: "In WASP families, if you don't get along with someone, you have as little to do with them as possible. In Jewish families, you move next door, to make them as miserable as possible." And, when she writes about yoga: "What was the point in putting that much effort into doing something, just to think about nothing, when I was already so adept at thinking about nothing without making any effort at all?"

Doreen Orion takes you on a wonderful ride through the U.S. Her unique style of humor makes this book a fun read. She captures the spirit and heart of the places she visits while adding her particular twist of humor. I laughed out loud when I read the chapter about the nudist/clothing optional RV park. Doreen manages to turn a restaurant robbery and numerous mechanical disasters into amusing stories. The cast of characters she encounters on the road are as colorful and diverse as the places she visits.

I bought the book because the idea of two psychiatrists on a bus going anywhere had to be interesting. I did not expect to be so entertained. I loved the wit of the author and her gradual but profound change. Through all the humor is a recognition of the depth of her relationship with Tim and her changing values.

The book made me want to quit my job, buy a bus and find my own Project Nerd. For afterall it is a grand love story.

I read this book in 5 hours. It's very entertaining as well as a travel guide and a story of bus mishaps.
I liked the truthful telling of marital interactions. This was important information to me because the author and husband were living in tight confines. My husband wants to buy a bus and full-time it to wherever.
The last pages of the book gives listings of RV parks, towns, etc. It's good info. to have.

I can't remember any book making me laugh out loud as much as this one did. I'm the husband who wants to take the cross country trip in the bus and this book still makes me want to take the trip. I've read a few stories to my wife but I'm not sure I'm going to let her read the whole book.

I "met" the author online after seeing her youtube.com videos. Great stuff. Very funny. Her blogs are also very entertaining.

This book is a great read for anyone, not just for RV & Bus people.

Have you ever sought out the services of a psychiatrist? If so, what were they like? If your experience was like the one my brother described in Running With Scissors, your shrink was a freak in a Santa suit with a goodie bag of pills. But if it was like my modern-day experience, your shrink was conservatively and properly dressed, polished, articulate, and inscrutable.

You may ask yourself, "What is she (the shrink) really like?"

Some of you may claim no personal experience with a shrink. But even you must have an idea what they're like, from watching Dr. Melfi on The Sopranos.

You may even go so far as to muse, "Would she do something wild like that?" I will leave the definition of "something wild" to your imagination for the moment.

This afternoon, I read a book that answered some of those questions. The book is called Queen of the Road, and it's by a real shrink named Doreen Orion. In the book and in real life, she has a mate named Tim who is also a psychiatrist. For Tim, being a shrink is not enough. He has dreams of becoming a Machine Aficionado, like me, even though he knows that doing so might change him forever.

In the beginning, we see Doreen as a sedentary and spoiled female with few if any practical skills beyond those required for acquiring and maintaining a medical license. She does not perform manual labor. She does not know how to operate heavy equipment. She does not design or even program computers. She does not own or covet exotic weapons. She has a dog, but it's a housebound poodle. She does not have a passel of beagles under the porch. There are no old motor vehicles on blocks behind her house, and no farm machinery. She does not race bicycles or airplanes.

Queen of the Road tells how those lifestyle deficiencies began to affect her husband. Finally, he was seized with such a lust for powerful machinery that he bought a bus. A fairly large one; a Prevost for you bus lovers. Forty thousand pounds, with three axles and a large diesel engine. The nature of the engine is not clear from the book, but there are clues.

Doreen ponders the difference between a 6V92 diesel and an 8V92. Both are products of the Detroit Diesel Company. The 6 has six cylinders, the 8 has eight. 92 is the size of each cylinder, in cubic inches. It is evident when she writes this that her sheltered life is about to change.

He has lured her into the bus world, and they undertake to convert their bus into a motor home. Already, the conservative shrink facade is crumbling. Then . . . they quit work!

They move into the bus, and depart on a year of cross country travel. It's the same scene I lived in the 1970s, without the drugs, guns, and loud music. Or maybe its not. But if they have drugs, guns, and loud music, they do not mention them here. Reading the story, you too will long for a bus unless you already have an abundance of machinery.

If you are a female, you will wish you had a mate like Tim to operate your bus. If you are a male, you will wish for two females like Doreen to accompany you. And the "two" is not my idea. It is hers, and she mentions it twice.

Together, Tim and Doreen experience many things together that I have also done:

They repair a broken bus by the roadside

They confront armed robbers

They travel the Alaska Highway

They visit the Cyclorama in Atlanta

They have trouble with the Law

Reading their story, I felt glad I had undertaken my wild times with a bus at age 20, and not at age 40. Her bus driver was a gentleman. My bus driver was a whiskey-crazed mad dog who drove an armored bulldozer in Viet Nam. Hopefully (because I remember my own times in a bus) our experiences differed in certain key ways.

There are elements of romance to the story, but I myself do not write romance and I am not qualified to report on it here. I will say there are indications throughout the book that Doreen likes her mate, and her mate likes her. I do not think either of them will be appearing on the True Crime TV shows anytime soon, but you never know.

On the cover, the bus is described as having a "mind of its own." I've known a lot of buses in my time. One of our long time customers owned the Peter Pan Bus Company, one of the largest bus fleets in the United States. I've been in their bus garage more times than I can remember, and I've seen hundreds of buses up close, but I've never seen a sentient one. I believe that was an error or exaggeration, or perhaps literary license.

But they are close to Area 51 out there, so maybe her bus is Different.

At the end of the story, Tim and Doreen still like each other, and they remain married. It's clear that they have both acquired many new skills and their view of the world has changed. At the end, Doreen remains a psychiatrist, but Tim's future is less certain. I think both are happier.

You will never look at a psychiatrist the same way again. And you will never take a bus driver for granted, either.