The Long Road Home PB Danielle Steel Dell 1999 1st print

Description

The Long Road Home: A Novel Mass Market Paperback
by Danielle Steel (Author)

Bestselling novelist Danielle Steel takes us on a harrowing journey into the heart of America’s hidden shame in a novel that explores the power of forgiveness, the dark side of childhood, and one woman’s unbreakable spirit.

From her secret perch at the top of the stairs, Gabriella Harrison watches the guests arrive at her parents’ lavish Manhattan townhouse. At seven, she knows she is an intruder in her parents’ party, in her parents’ life. But she can’t resist the magic. Later, she waits for the click, click, click of her mother’s high heels, the angry words, and the pain that will follow. Gabriella already knows to hide her bruises, certain she is to blame for her mother’s rage–and her father’s failure to protect her. Her world is a confusing blend of terror, betrayal, and pain. Her parents’ aristocratic world is no safeguard against the abuse that knows no boundaries, respects no person, no economic lines. Gabriella knows that, try as she might, there is no safe place for her to hide.

Even as a child, her only escape is through the stories she writes. Only writing can dull the pain of her lonely world. And when her parents’ marriage collapses, Gabriella is given her first reprieve, as her father disappears, and then her mother abandons her to a convent. There, Gabriella’s battered body and soul begin to mend. Amid the quiet safety and hushed rituals of the nuns, Gabriella grows into womanhood in a safe, peaceful world. Then a young priest comes into her life.

Father Joe Connors never questioned his vocation until Gabriella entered the confessional and shared her soul. Confession leads to friendship. And friendship grows dangerously into love. Like Gabriella, Joe is haunted by the pain of his childhood, consumed by guilt over a family tragedy, for which he blames himself. With Gabriella, Joe takes the first steps toward healing. But their relationship leads to tragedy as Joe must choose between the priesthood and Gabriella, and life in the real world where he fears he does not belong, and cannot cope.

Exiled and disgraced, and nearly destroyed, Gabriella struggles to survive on her own in New York. There she seeks healing and escape through her writing again, this time as an adult, and her life as a writer begins. But just when she thinks she is beyond hurt, Gabriella is once again betrayed by someone she trusts. Brought to the edge of despair, physically attacked beyond recognition and belief, haunted by abuse in her present and her past, she nonetheless manages to find hope again, and the courage to face the past. On a pilgrimage destined to bring her face-to-face with those who sought to destroy her in her early life, she finds forgiveness, freedom from guilt, and healing from abuse. When Gabriella faces what was done to her, and why, she herself is free at last.

With profound insight, Danielle Steel has created a vivid portrait of an abused child’s broken world, and the courage necessary to face it and free herself from the past. A work of daring and compassion, a tale of healing that will shock and touch and move you to your very soul, it exposes the terror of child abuse, and opens the doors on a subject that affects us all. The Long Road Home is more than riveting fiction. It is an inspiration to us all. A work of courage, hope, and love.

Publisher Dell (March 2, 1999)
Mass Market Paperback 448 pages
ISBN-10 0440224837
Weight 7.5 ounces
Dimensions 4.25 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches

You know, I’ve been a HUGE Danielle Steel fan for a long time now, so I was definitely looking forward to reading this novel. The summary of the story was a bit different from her other novels, so I decided, “why not”. So off I went; I dove head first into the story.

I must say that I was expecting something very different from what was actually delivered. For one thing, the plot was saturated with twists and curves. It felt as though I was riding a roller coaster of sorts because I couldn’t foresee what would happen next. Every turn took me in a new direction and I truly enjoyed that aspect of this story.

The other thing I enjoyed was that this story as a whole transcended time, meaning, it could have taken place at the turn of the 19th, 20th or 21 century. It’s setting was quite malleable so you as a reader couuld picture this story unfolding in nearly any era.

The final aspect of the story I enjoyed was that it was believable. Some of Danielle’s stories are a bit out there, but this one is believeable. The reader could see how these events could happen to any young person at anytime.

So overall,”The Long Road Home” was a great novel. It is definitely worth reading, particularly if you’re in the mood for something unique. Enjoy!

0-440224837

Reader copy. Multiple stresses in spine from being read. Page yellowing. More pictures may be in description (which it is suggested you read!)