THE NEXT BETTER PLACE: A Father and Son on the Road

Former radio broadcaster Keith, a Boston College communications lecturer, tours his childhood in this charming, often poetic memoir, a hitchhiker travelogue that reads like Little League Kerouac. The journey begins in Albany, N.Y., in 1959, two years after Keith's parents divorced. Together, 11-year-old Mikey and his alcoholic father, Curt, plan their trip to California: "The West beckons, and I am dizzy with anticipation." The duo travels by Greyhound, stopping in New York City, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Denver along the way. They seek shelter in missions, motels and back-street rooming houses, finally arriving at the Encino Paradise Motel: "I think I'm happier than I have been in my whole life," Keith writes. They survive on stolen sardines and graham crackers between the odd jobs that Curt occasionally lands and encounter plenty of quirky characters, including a paranoid embalmer's assistant who has his umbrella filed into a weapon. From Los Angeles, they proceed to Las Vegas, Fort Worth and finally back to Albany. Keith brings to life these long-ago people and places. He doesn't shy away from his father's "bout with the bottle," but the boozy past is bathed in a wistful, rosy hue: "Sitting in a moving Greyhound is the closest I come to experiencing the bliss of home. If I could, I would live on one forever." Agent, Christi Cardenas. (Jan. 17)

Forecast:In addition to national publicity and advertising, Keith will promote his memoir with an eight-city tour, which should spark further interest.