What do readers think of The Sunset Route by Carrot Quinn? Write your own review.

Carrot's life is like the dangerous train ride through the tunnel. Full of danger and little love. Her resilience and perseverance is amazing.

Hearing about all the people, mostly men, riding the rails esp. during the Depression, I was most anxious to read of a young women today following this way of life. I am always interested in the different communities in our country living a totally different kind of life esp. one that I had never heard or thought about. I was a little disappointed in Quinn's book since I thought the majority of the book was about the rails and not of her self-discovery, but that said I am glad I read it. Would have liked to have some maps and/or pictures of the train routes and trains themselves. Must say, however, I do look at freight trains as I am stop at a crossing in a totally new way. That all being said I will recommend this book to one of my book clubs.

The story of Carrot's early life in Alaska was so devastating that it was necessary to take a break from reading. At first, also, the moving back and forth in time was a difficult adjustment but once I decided that that really is the way we think back over our lives, memories in random order many times within an hour's time, it became easier. The pain and loneliness and emotional toll of Carrot's life is stunningly described. For the first time it has become clearer to me why people would choose to live this nomadic, emotionally distanced, seemingly unfettered life style. No number of springtime flowers or star-studded skies would ever compensate for a lack of love and emotional bonds and the need to dumpster dive to eat. How she managed to pull anything resembling a life worth living together is nothing short of miraculous.

The Sunset Route is a memoir along the lines of Educated, The Glass Castle, and Hillbilly Elegy. The author, Carrot Quinn, as a child is neglected in every possible way, The father has abandoned the family and the mother is a schizophrenic who spends her time in the bedroom talking to the Virgin Mary while her children starved. At times, the neglect and poverty of Carrot and her brother are disturbing. Reading how she and her brother, dirty and hungry, would find their meals in dumpers was heartbreaking. As her story progresses, life doesn't get easier. In her twenties, she travels across the country living as a hobo, jumping freight trains, and living hand to mouth. Being a natural writer, she records in a journal every day. From this she is able to create her story. Her writing is beautiful, descriptions are vivid, and her voice is very real. Recovering from the scars of her childhood is a difficult, almost impossible thing to do as she deals with much loneliness.

If I didn't know that this book is written as a memoir vs fiction, I would have found it hard to believe. I still find it upsetting that a child could live like this in our country--where so many have so much. All of it is described in a very matter of fact tone; there is no "woe is me" here at all.
How many more children are out there eating out of dumpsters? How many people are in such need of mental health assistance? I marvel at the insight and intelligence of this woman to find a life from the scraps she is dealt. Although I would have liked a happy ending, in some ways the ending is more realistic, and not sad at all.

Am I glad I read this book? Yes. Did I get irritated while reading it? You betcha. (Shoplifting is not a victimless crime - those of us without a lot of money get to pay the higher prices caused by the store's loss; try telling a family whose daughter is missing that it's safe to strip/dance at dive bars near the oil fields). My irritation aside, the book is well written and the story line holds the reader's attention. I did think the book was more interesting once we moved past her childhood. Although it is important for these stories to be written, I thought the author dipped into familiar tropes when writing about her mentally ill mother.

I also kept wondering how different the author's life would be if she were a person of color. As a white woman who lives in a predominantly white state, I can only guess what would have happened but I highly doubt that the author would have gotten away with warnings instead of tickets, time served instead of more jail time, not being arrested for shoplifting...the list goes on. Again, I am glad I read this book not only for the story it told but how it made me think about my life and the lives of others.

The Sunset Route, by Carrot Quinn, will undoubtedly be compared to Educated, The Glass Castle and Hillbilly Elegy. Carrot is abused and neglected by her schizophrenic mother, has a father who has given up all parental rights, and has very cold and abusive grandparents. Her saviors, in her memoir, are her friends and strangers. Each friend she meets in the various school systems she attends, and through her travels, give her the love and friendship severely lacking in her family. Strangers even offer her meals, rides and places to stay.
I didn't realize rail traveling was still done and now I'm going to be looking for cars that people could ride on now when I see trains! Carrot was still able to see the beauty in her surroundings and this comes through so well in her writing. I really wanted to see more closure at the end, but found the last few pages to be very profound. I will be writing some of Carrot's final thoughts down for my own reference. I am following her on Instagram now to see what her future holds.

The Sunset Route: Freight Trains, Forgiveness, and Freedom on the Rails in the American West

The subtitle of this memoir is an accurate description, it tells you what to expect when reading this memoir. The memoir flips back forth between the author's childhood and her life as a young adult. The author, Carrot Quinn, tells her story of a harrowing childhood. She is raised by her schizophrenic mother and experiences terrible hunger. She leaves home and travels the country be freight train, which is quite dangerous. She is trying to escape her awful childhood and find happiness and love. Carrot takes pleasure in the natural world and it heals her. And she uses the physical challenges of her lifestyle to move beyond her past. Her story is captivating and I enjoyed the book.