Published in 2010 by The Story Plant, The Journey Home tells a moving story of three characters desperately searching for their way home.
Joseph wakes up in an unfamiliar home with unfamiliar people staring at him. He doesn’t remember how he got to this strange place, in fact he doesn’t remember much of anything except his name and that he’s certain he has a wife he must return to. The strangers are friendly and offer him a meal and a bed and the next morning Joseph decides to set out searching for home. He runs into a teenager named Will who decides to help Joseph find his wife. Will drives them in their car while trying to help prompt Joseph to remember who he is and where his wife is. Joseph still can’t remember anything, the visions he has of his wife are his only guide towards home.
Antoinette has spent the last five years in an assisted living facility after her husband’s death. Lately, she’s become more of a recluse and confines herself to her room instead of socializing with the other residents. Despite her son’s attempts to get her out of the room and into the world, she spends most of her time on a journey in her head, remembering and reliving the past when she was young and married and happy. In those visions in her mind she feels truly home.
Antoinette’s son Warren has possibly had the worst year of his life. His marriage is over, he just lost his job and has trouble finding anything new, and his mother who was once hale and hearty has started to decline. He spends most his days with his mother and her lack of clarity and lucidity is both frustrating and frightening to him. Some of his best memories of his childhood have to do with the delicious meals Antoinette created, and so Warren takes on the task of recreating those recipes in an attempt to reconnect with his mom. He finds the challenge of cooking for his mother surprisingly rewarding, and he notices that the only time he feels his mom is with him anymore is when she is helping him prepare the meals.
This is a very heartwarming, sentimental story. It’s oftentimes predictable and I knew what was really going on before the end, but I still found I wanted to continue reading about it. The author probably wasn’t so much concerned with the reader figuring out what’s really going on; instead he focused on the writing and telling a tale about finding your way home that’s both moving and reflective. It’s a story of love, of family, and the link that binds us to one another no matter the circumstances. Warren is trying to bond with his mother, despite his attempts failing most the time; he still wants that connection with her. Antoinette wants to bond with her dead husband again and feels the only time she can is when she is lying in bed. Joseph is searching for the home he lost with only brief visions or memories guiding his way. How they all connect to one another may not be a surprise, but it is deeply profound and heartwarming. It’s a fast read, but the writing is beautiful and the story is told eloquently. The glimpses of the past in Antoinette’s head give us a sense of just how deep a love Antoinette and her husband had. Baron ties all of his characters together very well, when you think the strangers at the beginning are unnecessary, he suddenly reveals why they are where they are at that point in the story. It’s very well written. I’d grade this book a B because of the writing and the story. Baron doesn’t clutter his book with a lot of fluff, and it seems every word is significant to the story. It’s predictable, but even that can’t bring the grade down. Fans of Nicholas Sparks would probably enjoy this book as well. I may not read it again, but it was a touching story full of love and hope and the possibility of finally coming home.
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