Long Way Gone

Charles Martin

Oct 2016 · Thomas Nelson · Narrated by Adam Verner

About this audiobook

Cooper O'Connor thought he could make it big as a musician, but he promptly lost it all. Can he repair his relationship with the father who never stopped calling him 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.

Praise for Long Way Gone:

“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, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

• Stand-alone novel
• USA TODAY bestseller and Christy Award Book of the Year 2017
• Also by Charles Martin: The Letter Keeper, The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, and When Crickets Cry

Ratings and reviews

Long Way Gone is written by Charles Martin and is about musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor who met Daley Cross in Nashville, Tennessee. After Cooper took everything his father held dear, he then drove 1200 miles away. Then, when Cooper only had a six-string guitar and a bold-faced intuition that he actually had some talent, he soon came to realize that he was not only dead wrong, but foolish and stupid. Overall, this was a good book and I would definitely read this again. In part one, Cooper meets Daley Cross after twenty years. They meet unexpectedly after him finding her at a stoplight battered and bruised. He took preliminary actions and picked up her bruised, broken, and bleeding body, to take her to his jeep and then on to the hospital. In part two, Cooper has flashbacks to the time he ran away. He tells of his job at the guitar shop and how and when his guitar was stolen, with it was his motivation. When he returns he gets a letter, from Big-Big, his father’s accomplice, stating that his father has died. The letter, though, was two years old. He then has to go on a quest to change his reputation and fulfill his father’s legacy. During the story we are constantly told that, “No matter where you go, no matter what happens, what you become, what you gain, what you lose, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. Son, you can always come home.” Long Way Gone hits home for many people including myself. The emotion it evokes including the hurt you feel for Cooper and Daley once they break big then crash. Though the book is deep, it tugs at your heartstrings and makes you feel a little bit. This was a book that was hard to put down and it kept me up with late nights of reading. Each chapter leaves you with a cliffhanger that left me thirsting for more and wishing that I would never have to put it down. The book is very realistic. At any time throughout the story line you can relate to the characters, their actions, and their thoughts. For example, at many times throughout the book Cooper feels as if he is completely alone. Which for most people is completely relatable. this book brought up feelings that i have buried for the longest time. i hope you enjoy.

About the author

Charles Martin is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. He and his wife, Christy, live in Jacksonville, FL. Learn more at charlesmartinbooks.com; Instagram: @storiedcareer; X: @storiedcareer; Facebook: @Author.Charles.Martin