LONG WAY GONE
“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”
At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.
Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley,
“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”
At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.
Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.
When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it himself.
A radical retelling of the prodigal son story, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the
tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home
- Thomas Nelson
- Hardcover
- October 2016
- 320 Pages
- 0718084713
Buy the Book
$25.99
About Charles Martin
Charles Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of 12 novels. He and his wife, Christy, live in Jacksonville, Florida.
Praise
“Martin crafts a playful, enticing tale of a modern prodigal son. Told as a memoir, the novel begins in the middle of Cooper O’Connor’s story as he struggles to get his life together on the streets and in the bars of Leadville, Colorado.”—Publishers Weekly
“Charles Martin deftly retells the story of the prodigal son. […] Whether portraying a soul-shattering betrayal or bittersweet reunion between lovers, Martin sustains a realistic yet hopeful atmosphere. Best of all is the heart-wrenching relationship between Cooper and his father.”—BookPage
“Cooper and Daley’s story will make you believe that even broken instruments have songs to offer when they’re in the right hands. Charles Martin never fails to ask and answer the questions that linger deep within all of us. In this beautifully told story of a prodigal coming home, readers will find the broken and mended pieces of their own hearts.”—Lisa Wingate, bestselling author of The Story Keeper and The Sea Keeper’s Daughters on Long Way Gone
Discussion Questions
1. Which character/s in Long Way Gone did you relate to most and why?
2. “Music washes us from the inside out. It heals what nothing else can.” Have you found that to be true in your own life? If so, share some of the lyrics and how they provided healing for you.
3. It’s much more difficult for Cooper to forgive himself than it was for his father to forgive him. Why do you think that is?
4. How do you think aspects of Daley’s story impacted her passion to be with Cooper, despite her fear? Are there times in your life when you have let fear rob you of something wonderful?
5. How does the theme of “No gone is too far gone” play out in each character’s life? Do you believe that no gone is too far gone?