Jimmy McCarthy's Truck

Jimmy McCarthy's Truck is a story about Frank and Alice; two people whose relationship is borne of age-related illnesses, and Kelly and Jimmy whose lives become intertwined while caring for them. Through Dr. Steven Payne, the author gives insight into the training, rewards and tribulations of a general surgeon practicing at a community hospital. For the author, Jimmy's truck presents a metaphor for the journey and evening trains for destinations unknown. Naturalist and writer Jack Phillips offered that "freedom and wildness are found by a particular way of walking that Thoreau refers to as 'sauntering', which is not walking for exercise or to reach a destination, neither is it aimless". The journeys in this book don't take the characters far from where they are first seen as they saunter through the ever-changing, often difficult, terrain they encounter. The terrain covered in this book includes a diverse cast of characters with a menagerie of illnesses and life stories. It attempts to give insight into the care given them, and is a tribute to the characters themselves and to those who care for them.