By: Melissa Payne
Narrators: Landon Woodson, Lisa Cordileone Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 9781662515743
Publisher: Lake Union
Publication Date: 06/18/2024
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
A beautiful and enriching novel about unforgettable love and the power of friends and family by Melissa Payne, the bestselling author of The Night of Many Endings and A Light in the Forest.
Mack Anders will do anything for his wife, Daisy. Even die. With the woman he loves fading away from Alzheimer’s, Mack fakes his own passing. The insurance makes certain that Daisy will be taken care of with dignity and comfort until the end. In a lonesome cabin in the Wyoming wilderness, he lives off the grid with nothing but thoughts of the past to keep him company and the belief that Daisy is better off without him.
Strong-willed eighteen-year-old Brandi has just been released from juvie. Willing to risk everything to save her young brother, Sy, from their unstable mother, Brandi takes him on the run. Her destination is their aunt’s house in Casper. Maybe there she can finally find a stable home for Sy. After a busted tire strands them in the remote wildlands of Wyoming, they cross paths with Mack. Brandi quickly realizes this quiet stranger might be their only hope of reaching safety.
On an unpredictable road ahead, escape brings these three kindred souls together. But the real world is closing in, and to help Brandi and Sy, Mack will have to come back to life in ways he never imagined.
A LIGHT IN THE FOREST
My Review
Melissa Payne's latest emotionally charged novel, THE WILD ROAD HOME, brings together three strangers whose lives intertwine. The novel delves into the profound impact and power of friendship and family. Their unexpected connection sets them on a path of growth and second chances—a journey that will resonate with readers.
About...
A sister and brother on the run and a stranger living off the grid who may be their only hope. Trying to stay one step ahead of trouble. An unexpected connection becomes the saving grace for three unlikely souls who become friends in a heart-stirring novel about love, loss, moving forward, hope, and second chances. An unforgettable journey.
Mack Anders
Mack Anders is dedicated to his wife, Daisy, who suffers from Alzheimer's, and her cancer has returned. She needs expensive treatment that they cannot afford, so he fakes his own death to ensure the life insurance money will help take care of the love of his life with dignity and comfort. Even though his wife did not want to go through all the chemo again.
He lives off the grid in a cabin in the forest of Wyoming wilderness and would love to be with his wife, but now he cannot. They had appointed Daisy's best friend, Peggy as her legal guardian.
They ran out of money when they lost Anders Outfitters to a lying accountant, so things had been tight for the past ten years. She wanted him to let her go, but Mack knew deep down in his old broken heart that he could not do that.
He is living in the cabin his son Jesse always wanted. Jesse is no longer here. Mack wanted to bring Daisy to the cabin so he could take care of her and get her out of the facility, but she would not agree. Some days, she did not know him. Daisy and Mack were the perfect couple, and they did not work apart. (Think, The Notebook).
Brandi & brother Sy
As fate would have it, eighteen-year-old Brandi has just been released from juvie. She is tough and strong-willed and had enough of her mom and her boyfriend's abuse, neglect, and drugs. Willing to risk everything to save her young brother, Sy, Brandi takes him on the run with the boyfriend's car but little does she know what is in the car until it is too late.
The only person she knows who could possibly take them in is her Aunt Casper. But she lives hours away, and she does not have a phone, money, or clothes for either of them. She is not sure of her address and how she will get them there.
The truck breaks down near the forest, and this is where they meet Mack. But she is not sure if she can trust him. Will he be able to help them get to their aunt's house? Little does Brandi and her brother know that Mack is supposed to be dead, but he risks everything to help them. In return Brandi may be saving Mack as well.
Let the fun begin on a road trip with two kindred souls and a scared little boy, as unexpected allies and support when neither sees an end or hope in sight. As danger closes in, each must decide how much they will risk for the other while staying one step ahead of trouble for them both.
My thoughts...
A humorous, moving, multigenerational tale of adventure, suspense, and finding your way.
I loved THE WILD ROAD HOME! You will root for these three from beginning to end. Brandi was rough around the edges and tough, but she loved her brother and would do anything to save him from their environment. Mack's deep love for Daisy was touching. A fun road trip with loads of adventure, danger, hope, new friendships, and some wise life lessons.
Deeply compelling, heartfelt, and character-driven, an exhilarating and emotional novel about grief, hope, friendship, and second chances. A journey to finding a place to call home.
From highly charged topics of child abuse, neglect, drug abuse, death, grief, illness, and so much more. Ultimately, uplifting and inspiring, filled with hope, love, kindness, and grace. A heart-stirring novel about the joy that comes from finding love and support in unexpected places
I enjoyed the author's previous book, A Light In The Forest; however, I enjoyed THE WILD ROAD HOME more—where sometimes family is not blood-related and second changes are found in the unlikely of places.
Recs...
THE WILD ROAD HOME is for fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde, Colleen Oakley, Susan Redfearn, Elizabeth Berg, Nicholas Sparks, and Fredrik Backman. (all favs) For readers who enjoy road trips and those who resonate with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances.
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing an advanced review copy via NetGalley.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: June 18, 2024
About the Author
Photo by Eric Weber Studios
Melissa Payne is the bestselling author of four novels, including A Light in the Forest and The Night of Many Endings. After an early career raising money for nonprofit organizations, Melissa began dreaming about becoming a published author and wrote her first novel. Her stories feature small mountain towns with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances. They have been three-time Colorado Book Award finalists and Colorado Authors League 2020 and 2023 winners for mainstream fiction. She enjoys speaking about her writing journey at book clubs, literary festivals and in interviews. She believes that everyone has a story to share. Her upcoming novel, The Wild Road Home, will be released in 2024. Melissa lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children, a friendly mutt, a very loud cat, and the occasional bear. For more information, visit www.melissapayneauthor.com or find her on Instagram @melissapayne_writes.
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