DRIVING FOR U is a mix of vignettes and essays, blending stories of memorable rides with reflections on how ridesharing and the gig economy are changing our culture. A disoriented woman demands an eight-hour ride to Atlanta. A single mother confesses her loneliness and offers to buy me a pancake the size of a tire. I try to help men find their lost wallets, cars, and lovers. Riders cope with intractable nausea, marital spats, and friends’ suicides.

Combining the real-world work exploration of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed with the compassion for New Orleans’ people and culture of Dan Baum’s Nine Lives, DRIVING FOR U illuminates the danger, pathos, and exuberance of NOLA’s late-night milieu. A city laden with ghosts and history, inspired by food and music, and teeming with life and love, New Orleans has finally graduated from its post-Katrina rebuilding years. The city itself is a central character in this work.

This book will capture the imagination of the ten million visitors New Orleans draws each year, as well as be relatable for the two million rideshare drivers traversing American streets. But perhaps the largest readership will come from those who only dream of visiting the Big Easy, or who’ve merely imagined what it would be like to drive an Uber. Each night, riders would pepper me with fascinated questions: Can you really make a living? Is Lyft better for drivers? Are you putting cabs out of business? What would happen if I threw up? What’s the craziest thing that’s happened in this car? This memoir answers these queries and more.

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