Praise for The Joy of Uber Driving
The Joy of Uber Driving is a wild, nostalgic soul retrieval road trip that weaves true tales from her Uber driving experience (at age seventy-nine!) blended with her life-review-in-the-rearview-mirror stories. It skillfully blends humor, warmth, pathos, insight, and inspiration... and, at the very least, will give you an enormous respect for your next Uber driver.
Kelly Sullivan Walden, dream expert and best-selling coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and Premonitions
This is a portrait of one womans journey into self-love that will reach to the very core of every womans heart. The raw honesty and insight Yamini shares with us through her challenges and interactions ignites the spark of hope in all of us. And youll be taken over by her unexpected humor and her lightheartedness. Take the joyful ride and read this bookit will delight you!
Agapi Stassinopoulos, best-selling author of Wake Up to the Joy of You
Yamini has turned up the volume on her extraordinary life. Youll be riveted by this memoir. Her storytelling is at times intensely raw and insightful and at other times unexpectedly hilarious as she weaves in meaningful Uber stories with her own personal stories.
Jill Lublin, international speaker and four-time best-selling author
Uber drivers and passengers will enjoy the escapades of Yamini Redewill as riders reveal their deep inner longings in the backseat of her Prius. Sometimes therapist and sometimes cheerleader, Redewill touches hearts as she shares stories from the lives of her passengers, along with her own roller coaster journey to fulfillment.
Randy Peyser, author of Crappy to Happy
Yamini Redewill takes us on an insightful ride into her creative world, interweaving her life experiences with those of her passengers. A MUST READ!
Judith Morton Fraser, LMFT, author of Whats So Good About Bad Feelings? and Grandmas Never Die
Copyright 2019 by Yamini Redewill
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please address She Writes Press.
Published June 2019
Printed in the United States of America
Print ISBN: 978-1-63152-567-4
E-ISBN: 978-1-63152-568-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019932779
For information, address:
She Writes Press
1569 Solano Ave #546
Berkeley, CA 94707
She Writes Press is a division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC.
Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.
Dedication
At this time, it has become clear to me that I wrote this book as an incentive for women who feel abused, unworthy, and unable to defend themselves against the misogynous tyranny that has existed for centuries. The fact that it has become the big news of the day fits perfectly with my lifes purpose and the work I have done through my art as my contribution to the awakening of our society toward justice, equality, and self-love.
I dedicate this book to the #MeToo movement, even though I claim complicity as a victim because of my upbringing, which blinded me to the truth of this inequity. My victimhood ran very deep and affected every aspect of my life unknowingly until my life lessons and spiritual teachers led me to the truth of who I am. I hope there will be some who recognize something of themselves in my story.
I also dedicate this book to the Uber Corporation, which has provided myself and thousands of single women over fifty the opportunity to be self-sufficient in a totally equitable and supportive way.
CONTENTS
1
Forever Young
May Your Wishes All Come True
2
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
So Take a Hike, Laddie
3
That Old Black Magic
Blinds Me with Love
4
Let Me Entertain You
Pleeeze?!
5
Whats Love Got to Do with It?
Absolutely Nothing!
6
Strawberry Fields Forever
Adventures in Alternate Realities
7
I Will Survive
Goddammit!
8
If You Could Read My Mind
You Probably Need a Psychiatrist
9
Isnt She Lovely
A Gift for Another Mother
10
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
A Lesson in Miracles
11
Happy Days Are Here Again
In La-La Land
12
Im a Believer
My Fate Was Sealed When I Saw His Face
13
Up, Up, and Away
To Unchartered Territory
14
I Feel the Earth Move
Its a Seismic Awakening!
15
What I Did for Love
And Love Is All There Is
16
I Can See Clearly Now
An Artist and Dabbler in the Supernatural
17
The Age of Aquarius
Starfair Visionary Arts Expo Is Birthed
18
She Works Hard for the Money
The Art of Housecleaning
19
Youve Got a Friend
One Dies, One Is Born, and Two New BFFs
20
Ive Got to Use My Imagination
Musical Pillows and LED Shoes
21
Dream Weaver
Humanimal Rises from the Ashes
22
Wind Beneath My Wings
A Joyful Unexpected Reunion
23
Send in the Clowns
Compliments of Match.com
24
Imagine
A Retirement Community of Loving Friends
25
The Greatest Love of All
My Souls Purpose Revealed
26
What a Feeling
I Took My Passion and Made It Happen
27
Finding My Way Back Home
Who Knew It Would Be in Marin?
28
Be
A Light unto Yourself
29
Hallelujah
Says It All
INTRODUCTION
A s an Uber driver since 2015, I realize that I have a special mission: to be a source of light and levity touching every one of my passengers with truth, humor, and unconditional love. I always thought I was going to do it on a grand scale, with dreams of fame and fortune as a singer/actress using beautiful words and lyrics written by someone else. But it was not meant to be. Instead, Im able to impact a few people at a time on a personal level with the love and wisdom Ive gained through years of conscious learning and practice. And now, Im using Uber to deliver my memoir interspersed with intriguing personal stories from my passengers that coincide with my own stories. Ive named each chapter after a song from the sixties, seventies, and eighties because of my deep love of music and the meaningful songs of that period.
Being an Uber driver has opened up a whole new world to me where I relate to people of all ages and ethnicities and recognize that they are me. I have witnessed real and meaningful transformations in short periods of time through our interactions. These sacred moments in time give me hope that humanity is malleable and open to becoming more and more conscious. It has also given me a vehicle for my own transformation in that Im able to stop myself from judging my riders or making assumptions about them before giving them a chance to reveal their true nature.