Nervous Breakdown

What Happens when Your Vehicle Leaves You Stranded in Spain or Portugal

Stranded. Overheated. In a foreign language.

Now what?

We’re on your way home, back to Portugal. Our car-minivan-van-caravan is filled almost to the brim with two humans, two dogs, food and purchases we’re taking back with us on the motorway. The sweltering heat is hovering around 45 degrees and it’s muggy, to boot. Two days earlier, we’d replaced the battery; now, a light on the dashboard indicates in Portuguese “Verificar bomba de óleo” (Check oil pump). Seconds later, a different light comes on in all capital letters in red: “STOP!” The language is universal. We pull off onto a median strip and turn of the engine, which is smoking …as are the exhaust fumes coming out of the tail pipe.

When your vehicle breaks down in Spain or Portugal, it’s not just an inconvenience—it’s a full-blown survival test.

In Nervous Breakdown, Bruce H. Joffe drops you into a real-life roadside nightmare: 45-degree heat, two desperate dogs, a dead engine, and a maze of bureaucracy, language barriers, and insurance runarounds that only get worse by the hour.

This isn’t just a story—it’s a survival guide.

Packed with hard-earned lessons, insider tips, and blunt truths, this book shows you exactly what to do (and what not to do) when everything goes wrong far from home.

Before you hit the road, read this.
Before your car dies, know your next move.

Because in Iberia… it’s never as simple as calling for help.