Hitchhiking with Larry David: An Accidental Tourist's Summer of Self-Discovery in Martha's Vineyard

by Paul Samuel Dolman

Overview

A memoir about a brokenhearted, middle-aged man who stumbles upon solace, meaning, and Larry David while hitchhiking around Martha’s Vineyard 
 
One summer day on Martha’s Vineyard Paul Samuel Dolman was hitchhiking, and none other than Larry David pulled over and asked, “You’re not a serial killer or something, are you?” The comedic writer and actor not only gave Dolman a ride but helped him find his way.
 
Dolman found himself on Martha’s Vineyard that summer in the wake of a painful breakup. Desperately seeking companionship, he began hitchhiking around the island and met a wide array of characters: the rich and the homeless, movie stars and common folk, and, of course, Mr. David.
 
Written with disarming honest humor, Hitchhiking with Larry David will leave readers simultaneously laughing and crying as they ponder the mystery and spirituality of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592408740
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/03/2014
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	275,944
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul Samuel Dolman has dabbled in the film business in Los Angeles with David Foster as his mentor and founded a successful music company in Nashville. He spends his summers on Martha’s Vineyard and the rest of the year in Maui, Hawaii.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Soul Mates 1

Chapter 2 The Parental Asylum 12

Chapter 3 We Make Contact 17

Chapter 4 The Gospel or Seinfeld 44

Chapter 5 What Becomes of the Brokenhearted 47

Chapter 6 Billionaires and Movie Stars 50

Chapter 7 Jewish Sailing 56

Chapter 8 The Larry Phenomenon 71

Chapter 9 Island Life 78

Chapter 10 Can't Buy Me Love 87

Chapter 11 Bingo Tourette's Syndrome 101

Chapter 12 Is That So? 110

Chapter 13 Fame and Misfortune 120

Chapter 14 I'm Robin Cook 133

Chapter 15 The Magical Girl and the Equine God 141

Chapter 16 The Great Mongolian Doughnut Sage 144

Chapter 17 Nonnie-nesia 152

Chapter 18 A Tale of Two Summers 155

Chapter 19 Not My Day to Die 159

Chapter 20 The Ancient Gods of Love 165

Chapter 21 The Ted Danson Principle 172

Chapter 22 Mother Nature's Son 178

Chapter 23 The Lucky One 182

Chapter 24 Black and White 191

Chapter 25 Surreality 200

Chapter 26 Invitations 204

Chapter 27 The Prisoner of the United States 207

Chapter 28 The Greatest Show on Earth 211

Chapter 29 Dancing with the Cosmos 219

Chapter 30 Resonance and Reunion 226

Chapter 31 The End of the Ride 234

Epilogue 238

Acknowledgments 241

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"If I'd only known, I would've been wittier."
—Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm 

“Like Larry David’s TV shows, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, this curious memoir is witty, boasts an assortment of offbeat characters, and offers just a hint of surrealism. . . . A quirky and frequently thought-provoking memoir.”
—Booklist

“Endearing and funny.”
—Martha’s Vineyard Magazine
 
“Light, witty, brave and breezy, the perfect little book to stick in your beach bag this summer.”
—LifeGoesStrong.com 
 
“Light, summery memoir of a journey toward healing from a relationship gone slightly sour.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Paul’s wit, intelligence, and beautiful view of the world are all contained in this terrific read, and I believe it will inspire many to think about the potential everyone’s thumb has to take them places beyond the complacent.”
—The Huffington Post
 
“I should have picked him up…truly hysterical!” 
—David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer winner and Martha’s Vineyard resident
 

Editorial Reviews

"If I'd only known, I would've been wittier."
—Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm

"If I'd only known, I would've been wittier."
—Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm 

“Like Larry David’s TV shows, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, this curious memoir is witty, boasts an assortment of offbeat characters, and offers just a hint of surrealism. . . . A quirky and frequently thought-provoking memoir.”
—Booklist

“Endearing and funny.”
—Martha’s Vineyard Magazine
 
“Light, witty, brave and breezy, the perfect little book to stick in your beach bag this summer.”
—LifeGoesStrong.com
 
“Light, summery memoir of a journey toward healing from a relationship gone slightly sour.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Paul’s wit, intelligence, and beautiful view of the world are all contained in this terrific read, and I believe it will inspire many to think about the potential everyone’s thumb has to take them places beyond the complacent.”
—The Huffington Post
 
“I should have picked him up…truly hysterical!” 

—David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer winner and Martha’s Vineyard resident

“Paul's wit, intelligence, and beautiful view of the world are all contained in this terrific read, and I believe it will inspire many to think about the potential everyone's thumb has to take them places beyond the complacent." —The Huffington Post

“Hitchhiking with Larry David is an engaging, witty romp from the first page to the last.”
—The Vineyard Gazette

“His journeys, up and down South Road, from Edgartown to Aquinnah, are a search for healing, for figuring out how to be happy. The answers come from a variety of sources. This book resonates...HITCHHIKING is a layered book and it's also a funny book. Mr. Dolman offers us what he's learned about making all the pesky stuff-of-life things work. How — dare we say it? — to be happy.”
—The Martha's Vineyard Times

"I should have picked him up... truly hysterical!"
—David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner

"The book is hilariously funny and moving and something much more; it makes you think about your own interaction with the people around you, friends and strangers, and what wonderful opportunities you might be missing. I tried it one day, it works!"
—Carson Morton, Stealing Mona Lisa

"HITCHHIKING WITH LARRY DAVID often appears to fly off the shelves on its own accord. It's a fun, rollicking read that takes place here on Martha's Vineyard. Now, who wouldn't want to be on Martha's Vineyard, even by way of an excellent book?"
—Owner of Edgartown Books, Martha's Vineyard

“Like Larry David’s TV shows, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, this curious memoir is witty, boasts an assortment of offbeat characters, and offers just a hint of surrealism. . . . A quirky and frequently thought-provoking memoir.” —Booklist
 
“Endearing and funny.” —Martha’s Vineyard Magazine
   
“Light, summery memoir of a journey toward healing from a relationship gone slightly sour.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Light, witty, brave and breezy, the perfect little book to stick in your beach bag this summer.” —LifeGoesStrong.com 

"Set on the beautiful backdrop of Martha's Vineyard, Mr. Dolman has woven a masterful tale of love, introspection, pizza, and brushes with celebrity that is not only a classic Vineyard experience but also a truly delightful read." —Nancy Gardella, executive director of Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce
 

From the Publisher

Light, summery memoir of a journey toward healing from a relationship gone slightly sour. Once a successful entrepreneur in the music industry in Nashville, Dolman (What Matters Most: Intimate Interviews with Notable Nashvillians, 1997) found himself wanting an indefinable something more than his big house and trophy wife. So he sold his business and traveled west to California, where strange coincidences led him to meet a woman he almost instantly considered his soul mate. To his great surprise and bitter disappointment, the relationship did not survive the couple's return to Nashville, where "the Miracle" (as he refers to the otherwise unnamed woman throughout the book) wanted more of a commitment than he did and began looking for it with someone else. Devastated by this apparent betrayal--not just by the woman but also by the universe--Dolman went to his octogenarian parents' summer home on Martha's Vineyard to lick his wounds for a couple of weeks. He wound up spending an entire season there, hitchhiking and biking the island with no larger agenda than eating donuts and ice cream, swimming and sunbathing, and meeting random Vineyard denizens, including, yes, Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame. The first conversation between Dolman (hitchhiker) and David (ride purveyor) is the highlight of the book, not because of anything the two strangers discuss but due to the fact that David's acerbic misanthropy adds a delightfully real contrast to the otherwise sugary-sweet goings-on. Dolman was once a motivational speaker, and it shows. He approaches most conversations like group therapy, where everyone shares Oprah-like wisdom about the pains and joys of life, but nothing goes much deeper than standard Hollywood "life lessons." Pleasant enough beach reading for romantics and believers in fate but probably not for fans of Larry David.

Kirkus Reviews