In her new book “The Last American Road Trip,” Sarah Kendzior encountered a startling revelation about vacations: They may seem like an escape from an upsetting and changing world.
But they’re not.
Kendzior, her husband and her two children had spent the past few days exploring some of the country’s most popular and secluded national parks. After stopping at a Nebraska gas station for coffee and Twizzlers, Kendzior pulled out her phone and saw that billionaire Jeffrey Epstein died in prison.
That news pulled the University City-based author and journalist back into work mode, so much so that her kids could see her scrolling through news articles about the notorious child sex offender through the reflection on her glasses.
“I was not yet home, but I had exited the daydream and reentered the nightmare,” Kendzior wrote.
“The Last American Road Trip,” which comes out on Tuesday, spends quite a bit of time showcasing how America’s ravishing national parks and historic roadways cannot get away from political instability, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and mythbreaking realities of America’s past.
During a St. Louis on the Air interview on Monday, Kendzior said that she felt compelled to take her kids on lengthy, and often zany, road trips so they could experience different parts of the country with their own eyes.
“I wanted it to be their memories,” Kendzior said. “Not just a story I told them, but something they experienced themselves.”
She also stressed that vacations aren’t necessarily a true escape from turmoil in federal politics or climate change-induced weather changes. But she added that seeing different parts of the state and country can break down stereotypes and misconceptions — and put the story of America into full view.
“Vacations are something where I'm not just trying to escape or get a break, but I want to explore,” Kendzior said. “I want to investigate. I want to learn things. And it's a good opportunity for my children to learn things. And if you're going to be honest about American history, you're going to learn a lot of things that are dark and unpleasant as well as beautiful and kind of a distraction from our lives.
“I think all of that is woven together,” she added. “That's the paradox of our country. That's what makes it interesting. “
Missouri takes center stage in new book
Kendzior emerged as a prominent political voice over the past decade for her blunt assessments of America’s political trajectory under Donald Trump. She’s also been critical of what she sees as a feckless response from national Democratic leaders to Trump’s return to power.
And while "The Last American Road Trip" doesn’t shy away from the direct commentary that made Kendzior a New York Times bestselling author with a large following on social media platforms, it also puts more focus on her family, her parents, her upbringing in Connecticut and her life living in the St. Louis region.
“So many people over the years ask me ‘with all that you know about our political situation, how do you raise children? How do you stay positive about being a mom?'” Kendzior said. “I wanted to answer that question, and I also wanted to make a record of the America that I knew during an incredibly turbulent time.”
The book recounts Kendzior’s travels in different phases of her life, including points in time when she didn’t have children and others when her two kids were old enough to absorb the natural and man-made things around them.
Kendzior’s travels through Missouri are chronicled in particularly stark detail throughout “The Last American Road Trip.” She spends a chapter observing how Hannibal has used Mark Twain for tourism and national notoriety. And her family also encounters weird and memorable objects, including a gigantic Ronald Reagan head in Branson and a statue of massive praying hands in Webb City.
“This is American culture to me,” Kendzior said. “People will say America has no culture. And I’ll think of something like these [objects] that are monumental to just be monumental — just to be the biggest that it can be.”
On the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, in turn, triggered a near-total abortion ban in Missouri, Kendzior describes how she felt compelled to go to Grafton — partially to dive into the town’s antiquing and also to be in a state where abortion is still legal.
Kendzior has pushed back at the concept that states are red or blue based on whom they vote for for president. But she said Roe’s downfall did showcase how states can make policy decisions that profoundly affect their residents’ lives.
“I never felt like those red and blue lines meant anything, but in this particular case, they truly did. Because it's a different set of laws for me in one state than in another,” she said. “And that's the American story. And that's why I fear in this time where you see a lot of operatives trying to stir up things about secession or civil war or national divorce, I fear that this region will be one of those flashpoints as it has been historically.”
A book for future generations
On her social media accounts, Kendzior often intersplices political commentary with photos of her travels throughout Missouri and the rest of the country.
And when asked why she wanted to devote a book to what some may see as a diversion from what made her prominent in the first place, Kendzior said she wanted to provide a guide of sorts for how parents should assist their children in experiencing the tangible and intangible things about America.
And Kendzior said her children, who are now teenagers, said they’ve grown to become curious about the world around them.
“I think they've gotten to just see a lot: See the landscapes change. See mountains and oceans and plains,” she said. “And also see that a lot of places that are neglected or thought of as lesser than are beautiful or have something special to offer.”
Related Event
What: Sarah Kendzior in conversation with STLPR’s Jason Rosenbaum
When: 7 p.m. April 1
Where: Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis 63117
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
