5Women truck drivers have been hitting the highway for decades, but few embark on a professional driving career at the ripe age of 50, like Pat Minnick. Her memoir, Don't Park on the Poodle, is fully loaded full with humorous and poignant snapshots of her 24 years driving a tractor-trailer throughout the United States and Canada. As the miles and years roll by, Minnick unpacks memorable encounters with animals (squirrels, gators, and the mysterious "batfish") and people (friendly French Canadians, Ken and Barbie, and the odd bozo, as she puts it), offering a lighthearted female perspective of the long-distance freight-trucking industry.

Each chapter of Don't Park on the Poodle is an entertaining ride, punctuated with Minnick's colorful Georgia vernacular and wry humor, plus she skillfully helps readers navigate trucking lingo like "lumpers," "reefers," and "sea cans." Readers will readily crack a grin at this lively and light read. They'll also come away with a newfound appreciation for people, like Minnick, who haul the goods we rely on in our lives, from candy and kale to pharmaceuticals and yes, batfish.