An unlikely friendship born in a grief group; a road trip that turns into an individual quest of one kind or another for the women; and the coming together of the loose threads of each woman’s life makes The Long Way Home a memorable and feel-good novel. Jazzy, Marnie, Rita, and Loretta bond on their journey, even as they achieve some of their goals.
Jazzy, the character who inspires each of them, is a psychic whose premonitions, intuitions, and voices from beyond guide her and help her redirect the lives of her new friends.
The road trip was an idea that sprang from Marnie’s desire to see Troy, the teenage boy for whom she was a surrogate mother for years. Devastated after her live-in boyfriend Brian’s unexpected death, Marnie realizes afterwards that the loss of Troy was actually more poignant than her loss of Brian.
Rita’s daughter Melinda was murdered, and in searching for closure, she hopes to finally move on.
For Loretta, joining the others on the road trip helped release her from the prison of her duplex where she has become a recluse.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the somewhat unlikely friendships between them. I liked how Jazzy’s personality helped the others move from the places where they’d been “stuck.”
Along the way, many apparent obstacles seemingly turned into fate having a hand in misdirecting them to unexpected joys.
This story felt like a movie as it unfolded in scenes and settings I could visualize and with all the ingredients that leave lasting impressions. Definitely a five star read.
AN INTERIOR JOURNEY 
This sounds like a book I would enjoy! I like friendships between unlikely characters.
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It was a unique journey, Laura, and I liked that the pace didn’t lag in the middle, as some do. Thanks for stopping by.
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