THE RIDESHARE DIARIES

An Uber driver shares stories from behind the wheel in this debut nonfiction book.

As a soon-to-be 75-year-old, Siegal has held multiple jobs that range from stints as a jazz musician and owner of a soft-serve frozen yogurt store to working as a lawyer and flight instructor. In 2019 he added another occupation to his resume: Uber driver. By 2023, having clocked more than 18,000 Uber trips, he understood the truism that “Everyone has a story.” With their permission, he shares fascinating anecdotes and chronicles from 30 customers, hoping their personal triumphs will “inspire” readers. Those interviewed are as eclectic as they are fascinating. In back-to-back chapters, readers meet Grace, a professional dominatrix who pulls back the curtain on the life of a sex worker; these salacious stories are followed immediately by reflections from Tim, a United States Air Force veteran and IT manager for a hospital. Many of the stories present microcosms of 21st-century society; Sarah, for instance, works as a restaurant manager with an advanced college degree and an expertise in critical race theory. Likewise, Kerry had previously worked as an associate editor for Boston Magazine and a literary agent for a business that catered to academics; after putting her career on hold to have kids, however, she soon found that “she couldn’t make a living” and now works as a pre-school teacher. Interspersed throughout the stories are vignettes from Siegal’s own admittedly eccentric life (such as a romantic relationship with a Russian translator he met through an Eastern European dating site) as well as commentary on “life lessons” he has learned from his Uber clients. Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the stories offer unique perspectives on the crisis, including that of biophysicist Krishna, who studied the molecular structure of the virus. As an elderly driver “afraid for my health,” Siegal recalls that many of his customers didn’t wear masks, and that most who did wear them didn’t “do so correctly.” The author’s engaging writing style, revealing a gifted storyteller, graces a well-organized text accompanied by black-and-white cartoon drawings.

An absorbing glimpse of America through the lens of a ride-share driver.