Beverly Ann Donofrio wasn’t B.A.D. because she hung out with hoods, she was bad because she acted like one. When her parents informed her that she’d better forget about college and study typing so she can get a “good job” when she graduates, she lost interest in everything but riding in cars with boys, drinking, smoking and rebelling, mainly against her Italian–American cop father.
After her teenaged marriage failed, Bev found herself at an elite New England University, books in one arm, child on the other. Then, furnished with ambition, dreams and five hundred dollars, she took herself and her son to New York City to begin a career and a life.
An outrageous and touching memoir, Riding in Cars with Boys, is a story about a teenage mother who as her son grows up, becomes an adult herself.
Riding in Cars with Boys has been translated into fifteen languages. It was made into a well-loved motion picture, starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall. Donofrio was a producer.
Reviews
“Riding in Cars with Boys is so much about maintaining independence against all odds, and it’s about drifting and making a million mistakes, feeling lost about half the time and it’s about how truly painful and hard growing up can be—and how ultimately there are a lot of ways to do life right.”
– Anne Lamott
“It’s a good thing for readers, particularly for those who have ever found themselves in or close to similar straits, that Donofrio triumphed to write this touching, amusing account.”
– People Magazine
“A wonderful book! Beverly Donofrio writes with heart and a mischievous sense of humor.”
– Susan Minot
“classic, unless you hate to laugh, read it now.”
– Phyllis Theroux, Chicago Tribune