The Long Escape

by Jeff Noonan

The Long Escape By Jeff Noonan This is a true story; a story of survival. It tells of how a boy and his family lived a life of hellish abuse, fought back, and learned to live with the memories. It is also an adventure tale, following the boy through the military buildup to the Viet Nam War, Pacific Island love affairs, and his personal battles in the Montana mountains. As a boy, Jeff was raised in the mountains of Montana where he idolized his father, a former professional boxer. But in the early 1950s, his idol became an alcoholic and an abuser, repeatedly beating Jeff, his mother, and his younger siblings. In desperation, Jeff resorted to digging hidden bunkers where the family could hide when they were attacked. Life became a daily struggle, both physically and financially. He left school and worked wherever he could find a job, using the money to help feed his family. He labored in lumber mills, railroads, and ranches until he joined the military at age seventeen. This story follows the boy from the hell of his childhood through Pacific Island love affairs, killer typhoons, and Hong Kong bar battles as he fights his way to acceptance in the rough and tumble world of a destroyer sailor. In his first Navy assignment, he finds that his poor education has resulted in a job he despises; working as a permanent head cleaner on an old destroyer. But through perseverance, hard work, and an iron will, he becomes a leader, supervising teams working on experimental shipboard missile guidance systems. But you can’t run from yourself. Jeff’s family problems haunt him, frequently bringing him back to Montana; to increasingly violent confrontations with his father. Tensions build until the inevitable happens and Jeff is drawn into a final, epic, battle with the abuser. A sobering, visceral, and shockingly real portrait of domestic violence, the boy’s relentless drive for survival is nothing short of extraordinary. An uplifting journey to redemption and self-acceptance, The Long Escape sends an unforgettable message to the abused that there really can be hope and love in their future. It also brilliantly captures the sometimes hollow feeling of victory and the scars of abuse that are carried for a lifetime. This is a true story. Some names have been changed to accomodate participants, but the story is absolutely true. The author sincerely hopes that, by publishing this memoir, he can provide a bit of a roadmap for others struggling to escape a life of abuse.

Genres: Military Fiction, Memoir, Nonfiction, Family, Drama, Survival

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Donna Fluharty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was depressing and then uplifting. It teaches that happy endings don't last, but that life goes on. It also teaches that life is what you make of it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about abuse is never an easy reading book but it can be good.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love against evil

It always amazes me the strength of the human spirit for good against all odds.
The love of family is a power for good in the midst of the evils of a raging drunk.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

For Noonan, a Navy career is a springboard toward seeing his family evade a dangerously abusive, alcoholic father. Most of the book focuses on Noonan's Navy time, so the weight of memoir is about a seaman's life between the Korean War and Vietnam seeing destroyers move into the era of computerized guided missile systems.

I'll particularly remember the Hong Kong entrepeneur that painted Navy ships for food garbage which later appeared at alley stalls with the end of those alleys seeing even the scraps of scraps made into sold food.

And of course, the Hong Kong No-Squeak Shoe Company.

[Nicole C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit different than I thought it would be. It's a memoir from a man who grew up in an abusive household, and while that becomes the impetus for his escape from his hometown, it's not the entire focus of the book, of which I was glad, because that sort of thing just becomes difficult to read.

Jeff enlists in the Navy, and the majority of the book details his time on the ships and his adventures in ports during the fifties and sixties. I don't know much about the Navy, but the author writes it up in a pretty engaging style so it doesn't become too bogged down in jargon.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very surprised at how much I liked this book...it's strictly a narrative following a young man's escape from his alcoholic abusive father. It follows his search for jobs and a way of escaping and making a better life.
Finally he joins the Navy and his life comes together. With my Navy background, living near Bath, Maine and having worked at Bath Iron Works it was fascinating to follow him aboard three newly constructed ships from BIW through sea trials etc.

[Therese]

$0.0

[Jeannie Tillery · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book about domestic violence, child abuse and the ability to overcome these obstacles and turn your life into something positive. A true story!

[Geraldine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very good book about life and how to handle it.

[Carrie Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good to read stories of people who overcome the odds. This guy had a childhood that would have been terribly difficult to endure and he came out on top in spite of it..

[Darren Keighley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, but the book dropped off at the end.

[Cchelles · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I liked it. A few things were a little repetitive but overall worth reading.