Just One Question: A Road Trip Memoir

Sassaman’s entertaining memoir traces a road trip from Boston to Burning Man, in Nevada, and back, all the while asking strangers: if you could ask everyone you met just one question, what would you ask? Sassaman uses this conceit to navigate beyond his comfort zone into conversations with strangers, including a felon hitchhiker, a tattoo artist, and a wild bull, who retreats after Sassaman pops his question. Answers range from moral dilemmas (“what criteria do you use to differentiate between right and wrong?”) to cocktail party conversation (“is a chicken wing light meat or dark meat?”). Intended questions to celebrities frame each chapter, featuring the likes of poet laureate Ted Kooser (“Do you know a way to slow the passage of time?”) and humorist Dave Barry (“Do you mind if I ask you one question?”). Along the way Sassaman wrestles with his own problems, most notably his need for his father’s approval. The book doesn’t necessarily hold the meaning of life, but it will leave readers asking themselves questions both thoughtful and silly. [em](BookLife) [/em]