The Way Back - Softcover

Jeff Turner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1628381434 ISBN 13: 9781628381436

Publisher: Page Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

Jack Elliot is stepping into midlife on top of his game. The flip, wise-cracking professor is up for tenure at a prestigious college and his books sell like hotcakes from coast to coast. He's living the good life in a posh Connecticut shoreline town with all the trappings: marble fireplaces, sandy beaches, private boarding schools. The man is hitting on all cylinders and his future never seemed brighter. 
That is, until the bottom falls out.
In a blink, seemingly every aspect of Jack's world gets turned upside down. He faces trumped up academic harassment charges, discovers his wife has been unfaithful and his teenage son bullied by high school thugs. Enter the seductive and mysterious Rachel Pond into Jack's life as well as troubling memories from a family swimming pool party that went horribly wrong, and suddenly he has more on his plate than he can handle. Such circumstances take their toll, and the seemingly ordinary Elliot family is thrust down a path of uncertainty and upheaval it never intended to take. This becomes a tale of the spiritual emptiness that plagues families who seem to have it all, the emotional frailty that can strike anyone or any time without warning. As events run head-on into each other, the truth of the Elliots' inner demons come closer to the surface: a father in a rush to make a living, a mother creating a world of escape and diversion, a teenage son secretly battling his own guilt and demons. Each has thrown up walls of isolation and protection, resulting in strangers living under the same roof.     This is a tale of death and rebirth, a story about a family whose lives have been rearranged and redefined by tragedy. The Way Back conveys simple messages about the complexities of life: how we need to accept our loved ones just as they are, their gifts and beauty along with their flaws and inner pain. In so doing, we discover what matters most.

About this title

Review

The Way Back...is a powerful novel of love, deception, and mistakes. Anyone who reads this may be able to identify with parts of the story - this isn't just a novel; it's a real-life lesson and one that many would benefit from reading. At first, it was difficult to see where all the little side stories fitted in, but with a few curve balls thrown in for good measure, it all becomes clear. Great story, exceptionally well written and thoroughly enjoyable... Would love to see more from Jeffrey Turner.
Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars; Highest Rating)  

What hit me about the story is the originality in the characterization and plot. The characters have been portrayed well and the scenes have been tied into each other beautifully... Though the story might seem to be predictable initially, there are many twists and turns in the plot that keep up the excitement level. It is an engaging novel where a simple theme has been worked out well to create an excellent read.
Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars; Highest Rating)  

A well thought out and beautiful story... one of the best I have read this year.  I (will) add it to my library of rare finds and I urge others to do the same...Turner should be proud of this remarkable novel and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

Lisa Jones for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars; Highest Rating)  

"The Way Back... is a novel that demands to be read from cover to cover because it is going to be hard to put down."
 
Alan Caruba, Bookviews.com, May, 2014

About this edition

• Publisher: Page Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1628381434
• ISBN 13: 9781628381436
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 314