Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral [Paperback]

Kris Radish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2006

For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request–a traveling funeral–and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.”

From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets–tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Radish's latest overwrought book (after Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn) tracks five strangers– turned–soul mates over the course of the titular funeral, posthumously organized by their friend Annie, who died from ovarian cancer at age 56. A package arrives at Katherine Givens's front door and in it are the ashes of her free-spirited, altruistic childhood friend, along with instructions for a procession that will take Annie's closest friends on a cross country trip from Sonoma, Calif., to Manhattan, sprinkling her remains as they go. Just nine days later, Annie's former university colleague Jill, women's crisis savior Laura, cantankerous neighbor Rebecca and her hospice aide Marie join Katherine on the journey during which they learn their eccentric friend's deepest secrets and share many of their own. Most importantly, these unorthodox urnbearers understand the greatness Annie saw in them and attain the courage to act on it. Windswept melodrama marks Radish's prose (e.g. "these moments were the ones Marie needed to keep the tears and gashes in her own soul from washing her out to sea"), but that will not deter readers who relish the idea of women forming bonds when their mettle is tested and finding power and self-actualization in grief, sharing and love. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Annie passes away at the youthful age of 56, leaving her high-school friend, Katherine, responsible for organizing her traveling funeral. Katherine receives a UPS package with Annie's favorite pair of red high-top sneakers, which contain her ashes, and instructions to contact four other women who played pivotal roles in her life. All of the women either have met or heard of each other through Annie, and all agree to fulfill her request that they fly across the country together and disperse her ashes at places meaningful to Annie. The women encounter beauty in unlikely places and people who either knew Annie or were somehow touched by her, causing the women to miss Annie all the more and reevaluate themselves and their missed opportunities. The funeral party turns into a true celebration of the deceased and her wonderful life. Once again, Radish celebrates women's inimitable friendships in an ode to sisterhood that will make her many fans rejoice. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 331 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553382640
• ISBN-13: 978-0553382648
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kris Radish grew up dreaming about living a Nancy Drew-like life and always held her own passion for writing very close to her heart. A former journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer and university instructor, Radish also loves to tell stories about the times she picked nighcrawlers, served beer to cowboys, worked on a tomato farm and hung out of the side of a fast moving helicoper.

Radish is now the bestselling author of six novels and has captured the hearts of legions of fans with her heartwarming, real, passionate and often hilarious novels. Her stories focus on the important bonds of female friendship and celebrate the common feelings, heartaches, loves, and struggles that all women share. She loves to call her work "true fiction" because she addresses the real emotions that women live and share every day.

She is also the author of two non-fiction books, writes poetry, is the mother of two young and very fiesty adults, is known for her wild laugh and wilder hair, and is working on her seventh novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Memorable... Interesting concept..., February 9, 2006

By 

Ruth A. Caldwell "Highland Princess Mum" (Walnut Creek, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral (Paperback)

Kris Radish wrote a great story. There were so many phrases that just jumped out at my heart, that I'd like to share a couple... "...I've had a world of loss dropped into my hands... but we're women and we deal with it and we do it in a way that somehow becomes a gift... Isn't it something that we can take something that is so painful that it makes you drop to the floor and turn it into a lesson that actually makes you glad it happened? That's what women do. We get on with it." AND "... women understand schedules. They understand sacrifice. They know what it feels like to never sleep, to always get up first... and they know that they all have many more miles to go, more hands to hold, more, so much more yet to give. And to receive."
You can read the professional reviews to determine the gist of this novel. I can only say, the message was thought provoking and comforting. I thought of my dearest friends and am grateful.
I would have given it five stars, however a couple of the characters (my age) were prone to expletives that I cannot relate to and thus I'm unable to share this book with my Mum. This was my first Kris Radish novel; won't be my last. She left a memorable impression.

41 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Traveling Funeral a little too long, May 8, 2006

By 

Patricia Kramer (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral (Paperback)

After reading the first third of this book, I recommended it to a friend, but by the time I finished the book I was more than ready for Annie's journey to be over. The premise of the book is great and the life lessons important, but they are repeated so many times, the reader feels like she has to duck.

The first half of the book is fun to read and a grand adventure, but I think I need to call my friend and modify my recommendtion.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a Waste of Time, April 7, 2006

By 

M. Lejeune (Phoenixville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral (Paperback)

I agree completely with the last two reviewers. The theme of this book was so contrived. I would have dropped it after the first 50 pages had I not been reading it for my book group. It was sheer torture for me and I found myself skipping large passages of "Annie adoration" just to finish it. I thought there would be a little more humor considering the cover and the description on the back. I had a hard time keeping track of who knew whom, where and when. I ended up not caring very much about any of the characters, including Annie herself. Almost none of the situations seemed realistic, the first example beginning with the women ending up standing on the very ledge where Annie had stood years earlier, after walking many miles into nowhere and ending with the stranger and his son who Annie's book had helped many years ago and he setting up a virtual 24 hour "life of the rich and famous" event for them.
My feeling is "so many books, so little time" and this one sure was a waste of my time.