DRIVING THE SAUDIS

Actress, producer, and occasional chauffer Jayne Amelia Larson took a job as a driver for members of the Saudi royal family during one of their visits to Los Angeles. Driving the Saudis is a funny, surprising, insightful, and shocking memoir of life as a fly on one of the world's most expensive walls.

Driving the Saudis is J.A. Larson's fascinating account of her experience as a chauffeur for members of the Saudi Royal Family who vacationed in Beverly Hills. She was assigned to drive a princess, several children, and their entourage of more than forty. As the only female driver in the family's fleet, Larson was in an ideal position for an up-close and personal view of one of the most guarded monarchies in the world, a culture of great intrigue and contradiction and of unimaginable wealth.
Driving the Saudis explores conceptions and misconceptions of beauty, addresses gender issues, examines social stratification based on geographical and economic influences, considers the world's relationship to Saudi oil, and describes the challenging expansion of the author's own worldview and ingrained beliefs. It is a captivating look "behind the veil" into Saudi culture, and beyond that, it's a universal look into the forces that corrupt us, make us desperate, and make us human.

Jayne Amelia Larson is an actress and independent film producer based in Los Angeles. She’s also been an occasional chauffeur between gigs. She has degrees from Cornell and Harvard University’s American Repertory Theatre Institute, and is a regular at Jim Krusoe’s writing workshop at Santa Monica College. Her one-woman show, a multi-media solo stage play based on her experiences with the Saudi Royal Family, has shown in Memphis, Ithaca, Boston, Roanoke, and Vienna, Austria, and won Best Solo Show at the 2010 New York Fringe Festival. She is one of ten children and is an excellent driver.