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The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home

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Ratings
Book
12
Narrator
7
Release Date
July 8, 2025
Duration
9 hours 37 minutes
Summary
An uproarious and “utterly charming” (The Washington Post) memoir by a mailman in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, who found that working for the post office saved his life, taught him who he was, gave him purpose, and educated him deeply about a country he loves but had lost touch with.

Steve Grant was laid off in March of 2020. He was fifty and had cancer, so he needed health insurance, fast. Which is how he found himself a rural letter carrier in Appalachia, back in his old hometown.

Suddenly, he was the guy with the goods, delivering dog food and respirators and lube and heirloom tomato seeds and Lord of the Rings replica swords. He transported chicken feed to grandmothers living alone in the mountains and forded a creek with a refrigerator on his back. But while he carried the mail, he also carried a whole lot more than just the mail, including a family legacy of rage and the anxiety of having lost his identity along with his corporate job.

And yet, slowly, surrounded by a quirky but devoted band of letter carriers, working this different kind of job, Grant found himself becoming a different kind of person. He became a lifeline for lonely people, providing fleeting moments of human contact and the assurance that our government still cares. He embraced the thrill of tackling new challenges, the pride of contributing to something greater than himself, the joy of camaraderie, and the purpose found in working hard for his family and doing a small, good thing for his community. He even kindled a newfound faith.

A brash and loving portrait of an all-American institution, Mailman offers a “warm and oddly patriotic” (The New York Times) look at both rural America and the dedicated (and eccentric) letter carriers who keep our lives running smoothly day to day. “A compelling and empathetic guide” (The Atlantic), Grant has written an irreverent, heartfelt, and often hilarious tribute to the simple heroism of daily service, the dignity and struggle of blue-collar work, the challenge and pleasure of coming home again after twenty-five years away, and the delight of going the extra mile for your neighbors, every day.
Reviews
Profile Avatar Amy S. Jul 2025

Very interesting & entertaining

Profile Avatar jamie May 2026

Excellent telling of a tough time in life.

Profile Avatar Anonymous May 2026

So interesting to learn much about the USPS and the realities of the job of being a mail carrier. Told with humor and sincere appreciation of the job with a significant amount of the author’s self introspection as well as philosophical insights to his own person and how humans react. I didn’t expect the amount of philosophizing and reflections of the human condition but those segments were worth listening to. The stories of the actual workings of delivering the mails were entertaining, interesting and eye opening!

The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home

The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home

Author: Stephen Starring Grant
Read by: Stephen Starring Grant
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