The Mailman:
My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home
DETAILS:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 37 min.
Read Date: September 29-30, 2025
What’s The Mailman About?
Steve Grant was a marketing consultant and behavioral economist who worked for some pretty big-name companies and firms. And then…he was laid off. He was the chief earner for his family of four (and two of those four would be starting college in the near future). What’s more, he was fighting cancer, so he really needed health insurance.
A quick aside: other than occasionally saying he had cancer, this memoir doesn’t talk about it. If you’re not into medical stories, you’re good here.
So, he ends up taking a job as a part-time rural mail carrier while he looks for another job in his field. The problem is, that job didn’t stay part-time. It became full-, and even more than full, time. Because he does this in 2020.
2020, as you might remember, was a pretty big year for Postal Carriers (and those in similar positions)—you’ve got people shut up in their houses with minimal contact with the outside world, you’ve got people ordering things like crazy online, and then there’s a tiny lil’ election that put a lot of focus on ballot security. So, really, Grant picked a good year for this career shift (however temporary)—at least if he wanted good material for a memoir.
And that’s what we have hear—a memoir of that time: the training, the first couple of days (a lot harder than he expected), the deluge of packages over the summer, some things he tried (and some he shouldn’t have) to do to make the job easier, some more interesting happenings while he was on the job, and a little bit more.
And it starts with the delivery of a sword… (you can’t go wrong with opening a book with a sword)
Things I didn’t Expect to Get
I expected a cute little book about being a rural postal carrier—and got that (maybe not cute, but an amusing take on it). What I didn’t expect was a beautiful excurses on patriotism (as brought about by taking the oath as a carrier).
I didn’t expect thoughtful discussion about guns in America—safety, use, and need for them (and how we’ll never be rid of them)—I’m sure it will rankle several on both sides of the aisle. He talks about books and their magic (and necessity), the importance of community. What he said about service and work…I really was wowed by a lot of the things he touched on.
Really, by the end, if Grant were running for office, he’d likely get my vote.
A Word About the Narration
Grant feels like a natural. He probably isn’t one, there’s likely a lot of hard work behind this, but he feels like one. He’s no stranger to giving presentations, or selling people on ideas—and that is clear here.
While it’s clear that he’s reading, it really feels from the heart. You can’t help but respond to an audiobook like that—especially one of this nature.
So, what did I think about The Mailman?
I was really impressed with this book. I’ve read/listened to a handful of “here’s a quirky memoir about job X” lately—and while I largely enjoy them, I rarely am moved. I was both amused and moved by this book.
It’s a great look at a divisive and eventful period in our contemporary history. It’s a part of life (as Grant notes) that we usually take for granted—like plumbing—until there’s a problem. And it really shouldn’t be. The postal service is the oldest U.S. organization (other than the Army), its history shaped a large part of our country’s early history—and the impact it has on us even today is easily forgotten. Grant calls us to pay at attention while talking about some antics there, some interesting people he encountered, and reminding us of the importance of serving.
I strongly recommend this for a good, thought-provoking, time.
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