Inspired as a young man by Jack Kerouac’s On the Road character Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady in real life), Ed—aka Eddie Chowan, Tony Turtle, Sgt. Thrillhammer, Barry Dingle, William F. Burro—takes to the highway as a long-haul trucker, hitchhiker, and leaving-home dad.

Hard-working, hard-drinking, he’s also a prolific letter writer, whose 50 years' worth of letters to his children, friends and family are imbued with wit, wisdom and cultural relevance.