Just Give Me the Road

My aunt, Anne Marie Romer, bravely shares how the accident impacted her sister Kathy - my mom, and our whole family, in her book “Just Give Me the Road.” 

“Just Give Me the Road” is a story of sisterhood and the cultivated resilience born from navigating family loss. 

My mom and aunt are no strangers to adversity. Together, through partnership, love, and friendship, they navigated a fractured childhood marked by loss and grief. It was their mother who was their example, showing them how to live with gratitude and grit in the face of hardships beyond their control. 

Years later as adults, the sisters had no choice but to continue to press on, seeking light in the darkest of moments. “Just give me the road,” my mom whispered in her sister’s embrace. “I don’t care how long it takes. Just give me the road.” 

They were standing in the lobby of the Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital, twelve hours after I had been in a life-threatening accident. Like me, my mom and my aunt are grounded in hope. This story follows the raw heartbreak of facing unimaginable situations, but the unrelenting hope that follows. 

Anne Marie had a front-row seat as Kathy and My family opened herself to grace, searched for good despite repeated tragedy, and leaned on what she knew for sure; the presence of love in all.

This is a story of my mom, dad and siblings unyielding determination to restore my wellness; weaving a greater story of sisterhood into my mom’s very personal quest to save her son.