The Long Road Home

by Fiona McCallum

You can't find where you truly belong until you discover who you really are...

Alice Hamilton is enjoying her new life in Ballarat with the freedom to explore her future now she's stepped away from the constraints of her upbringing. She's learnt the hard way that knowledge is power, and is looking forward to her legal studies, then making a difference as a lawyer with heart.

But while Alice's life is looking up, back in Hope Springs the world of her former husband Rick Peterson is unravelling. After a chance meeting a few months earlier, Rick and Alice have reconnected. And it's fortunate they have, because Rick is about to need Alice's friendship like he's never needed it before.

Rick has always felt a bit lost - as a farmer, he could never admit he didn't feel the deep connection to the land that the only son and third generation farmer should. And now he's suddenly being forced to come to terms with just why his heart isn't in it and what's behind his fractured relationships. Has his whole life been a lie - and if so, where did that lie begin?

From Australia's master storyteller comes an inspiring story about how when your life falls apart sometimes help can be found where you least expect it.PRAISE

'Fiona has created that smaller town, tight-knit community feel that as a reader you relax back into and never want to leave. Especially at this time in the world, this story was as comforting as it is entertaining.' - Better Reading

'A heart-warming and timely book.' - Canberra Weekly Magazine

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Audiobook, Australia, Family, Fiction

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2020

About the author

** Please be aware Fiona is not active on this site. She can be best found on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fionamccallu... **

Fiona McCallum spent her childhood years on the family cereal and wool farm outside the small town of Cleve on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

Fiona now lives in Adelaide and works full-time as a novelist. She writes "heart-warming journey of self-discovery stories" - often with a rural setting, sometimes with a romantic thread and sometimes without. Her tales tie together her love of animals and fascination with the journey people go on to find what really makes their heart sing and then follow their true passions to find happiness, even if it means taking risks and facing seemingly impossible obstacles. It's a storyline very close to Fiona's heart because it reflects her own life.

Fiona now has nine Australian bestsellers to her name: 'Paycheque', 'Nowhere Else', 'Wattle Creek', 'Saving Grace' (Book one of The Button Jar series), 'Time Will Tell' (Book two of The Button Jar series) and 'Meant To Be' (Book three (and at this stage final) in The Button Jar series), 'Leap of Faith', 'Standing Strong' (a sequel to Wattle Creek), and 'Finding Hannah'. Her tenth book, 'Making Peace' has just been released (late March 2018).

Fiona is proof dreams can come true...

Please note, Fiona isn't active here. She only signed up to try and get books by authors of the same name removed from her listing. (Note, this Fiona McCallum is not the clairvoyant and author of "Dear Fiona". Nor is she the Scottish academic who writes about Christianity in the Middle East.) She's too busy writing to be on multiple social media platforms and only does Facebook. She can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/fionamccallu...

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leaving Hope Springs and moving to Ballarat is the best decision Alice Hamilton has made in a long time and she couldn’t be happier. Alice has a new job, a new unit to live in oh and let’s not forget her small dog who she adores, Billy (Billy boy). And she also had her friends who were always there for her if and when she needed them. Life was really beginning to seem a whole lot brighter now for Alice since she had made the move.

When Alice finds out her best friend in Hope Spring had passed away, she knew she had to return to attend her funeral and she was glad she did. Whilst Alice is back in Hope Springs she sees her ex husband, Rick and they decide to stay friends.

In the weeks that follow Rick finds himself in need of a friend and someone who he can talk to who will understand what it is that he is going through. He knows the one person he can turn to is Alice because she knows him better than anyone.

The Long Road Home follows on from A Life of Her Own (2019) which I suggest you read first so you can get the whole story of Alice Hamilton.

I was truly looking forward to this book as I really enjoyed A Life of Her Own, but I’m afraid this one was a bit of a let down for me. I found the start of the book quite repetitive and Alice’s character was very frustrating to say the least so much so I wanted to throttle her (lol). Usually I would say if a book has you feeling like that it’s a really good book, but I didn’t think so with this book as the storyline didn’t hold my interest as it did in the first book. But of course, this is just my opinion of this book and there are many who have enjoyed this book, so if you think it’s something you might like to read then give it a go because you never know you too might love it.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A follow on from 2019’s A Life Of Her Own, The Long Road Home by Aussie author Fiona McCallum continues Alice Hamilton’s life, along with Rick Peterson’s, Alice’s ex-husband.

Alice was delighted when she moved from Melbourne to Ballarat. She had a new job, a small unit she could call her own, her little dog Bill – or Billy boy – and genuine friends who cared for her peace of mind. Leaving Hope Springs was the best thing she had ever done. Going back for her friend Ruth’s funeral was hard but she knew she’d done the right thing when she reconnected with her ex-husband, Rick, happy to remain friends. Her mother and sister were never going to change…

After a few traumatic weeks in his home town, Rick, hurt and uncertain about his future, left Hope Springs with no intention of returning and headed to Ballarat and Alice’s friendship to help him over the hurdle.

I’m disappointed I didn’t get into this book the way I did with the previous one. Alice was so annoying, full of misery which she kept repeating over and over. Yes, she’d had a terrible life with a narcissistic mother and sister, plus she missed her father desperately, but I found it difficult to feel sorry for her. I skimmed a lot of the repetition I’m afraid. But Bill was so sweet and with him on the cover it was easy to visualize him in the story 😊

With thanks to HarperCollins AU for my uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 1 out of 5]

One and a half stars
Alice Hamilton has moved on from her narcissistic mother and sister to forge a life of her own. She has plans to become a lawyer and has moved from Hope Springs to Ballarat. She is still struggling to move past the entirely negative treatment she has received from her mother and sister. The one bright spot in the family is her stepfather Frank.
Rick Peterson, is Alice’s ex husband. His father has just died. Given their relationship or lack thereof, he finds it hard to feel sorry for his passing. Life has more shocks in store for Rick.
These two main characters were whinging and whiny. Not saying they didn’t have reason to be resentful and angry but it still made for tedious reading. I thought several times about abandoning it, but kept waiting for it to get better. It never really did, bogs down in the middle and there is a lot of repetition. The characters didn’t hold my interest, I should have given up when I found myself doing more skimming than reading.
Bill, Alice’s Jack Russell, and Blair were the best characters. And what was the go with four female characters all starting with the same letter? As well as Alice, there are Ashley, Anthea and Angela. Plus I got tired of the liberal use of the f word.
Other readers may well enjoy this but it wasn’t for me. If I had realised earlier this was a continuation of Alice from A Life Of Her Own I wouldn’t have read it. Think I am going to pass in future on this author. We just don’t seem to connect that well. That's not to say others may enjoy it though.

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogsp...
The Long Road Home follows on from A Life of Her Own and whereas this story stands alone you will want to read the previous story about Alice’s struggle to achieve a life away from her emotionally abusive family.

I know in the first book I found it hard to connect with Alice as a lot of the story was centred around her negative thoughts.

“At the end of the day, Alice, we’re responsible for our own happiness and wellbeing. Once you realise that, life becomes a lot easier to manage.”

Now Alice has moved away from her family and started to do more of what pleases her she has become more aware of how negative she was and has striven to turn this around. I applaud Alice for this as it must have been hard. But you can see the difference it made when she smiled more, laughed more.

This story is not only about Alice’s road to self discovery. When her ex-husband Rick needs a shoulder to lean on after a death in the family Alice is there for him. Rick’s story is heart-felt. As explosive secrets are uncovered he finds he has no-one to turn to in his hometown of Hope Springs and is heartily welcomed into Alice’s new circle of friends in Ballarat.

I loved the mystery surrounding Rick and how Alice and Rick slowly uncovered the details. It was shock after shock and I was eagerly invested in finding out the final outcome.

The Long Road Home is an emotional story of self discovery, long held secrets and finding your true calling from one of Australia’s much loved novelists.
*I received a copy from the publisher

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️s


Follows on from A Life of Her Own

This started out as a 2 star read but got bumped up to a 4 as I really enjoyed the way Rick’s character unfolded, full of surprises and unanswered questions.


Audiobook via BorrowBox
Published by Bolinda audio
Read by Jennifer Vuletic
Duration: 11 hrs 58 min. 1.25x Speed

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a bit difficult to review as I had mixed emotions throughout. At the start I almost gave up. It was repetitive and the story of Alice was very hard for me to continue reading. It felt overly emotional and I believe dwelt too much on every emotion Alice felt. The question – “Are you ok” was irritating as it was asked continuously by everybody. Plus, I think the fact that her mother was cruel was overdone. The character of the mother was so outrageously mean and rude that I fail to believe a person can overlook this their entire life and just realise it now this late in life. But maybe I’m incorrect, as I’ve never had to deal with a family member like that.

Once it switched over to Rick’s story it became easier to read. And I have to say towards the end, when all the loose ends were clicking into place, I felt a sense of happiness and warmth. After I overcame the rocky start, the book became a lovely story about life and feelings and how to move on after someone hurts you. I’m glad I stuck with it, as I’m still reflecting on some of the messages from the book that I resonated with. Especially about how we judge our happiness in today’s society, which is very skewed with what it was in the past, and what it should be based on.

So my 3 star rating is due to it being a 2 at the start but a 4 at the end so we’ll meet in the middle.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com

‘This was really the first time in her adult life Alice was truly living a life for her and really felt at a deep, soul level.’

The Long Road Home marks Australian author Fiona McCalllum’s twelfth published novel. Over the space of a decade, McCallum has successfully released a well received collection of rural and domestic fiction novels, which displays her intuitive approach as an author of contemporary fiction. The Long Road Home is a continuation of last year’s release, A Life of Her Own, it will be sure to strike a chord with fans of this book and it will also draw in new readers to McCallum’s work.

The Long Road Home sees lead character Alice Hamilton in a much better position than she was when we followed her journey in A Life of Her Own. Alice is now free and independent. Alice is also travelling full steam ahead with her education plans and her career aspirations in law are panning out well. But Alice‘s ex-husband Rick, a farmer from the small town of Hope Springs is struggling. He now needs Alice more than ever. The two have reconnected and time has seen their fractured relationship heal. When Rick experiences a significant loss in his life, along with a family crisis, it sends him in a spin. Unable to cope with his escalating feelings over the disconnection he feels to his life on the land, Rick heads on a journey back to Alice. Can these two lost and broken souls help one another?

Fiona McCallum has been a permanent fixture on my reading schedule for some years now. I look forward to each new release that McCallum brings and this one was no exception. I was lucky to be gifted with the opportunity to read her previous book in this series, A Life of Her Own last year. After closing the final page of this book, I had a sneaky suspicion that McCallum wasn’t quite done with the characters of her novel. It was nice to be reunited with most the characters of this book. Alice is a protagonist that I can sympathise with and root for. While her delightful canine companion Bill always puts a smile on my face. There are other protagonists who featured in the previous novel that I would rather not meet again. These include Alice’s ex David and her controlling family. But I liked the fact that the second part of this book really gives Alice’s ex-husband Rick a chance to share his emotional journey.

The Long Road Home reads in two distinct parts, with the characters overlapping both sections. In part one, we really see Alice come into her own. She has made some great personal and professional gains in her life. Alice has worked hard to forge a new career and upskill herself in the area of law. I genuinely enjoyed catching up with Alice and I appreciated seeing how much growth she had made to her life. Alice is still plagued by some self-doubt and self-worth issues, which shows that she still has a bit more work to do in this respect. There are also increasing tensions and guilt provided in the form of her unreasonable family. These aspects of the book really did get under my skin! How a family could behave like this is truly awful! However, McCallum’s treatment of these family issues is presented in a realistic and in touch manner.

The second part of The Long Road Home puts Rick, Alice’s ex, in the spotlight. I liked the way in which McCallum handled this relationship. It was a refreshing to see a former couple reconcile and find friendship. The way these two support one another was admirable. Likewise, McCallum’s treatment of grief, disconnection, male emotions, mental instability and life crisis is handled with insight, as well as sensitivity. McCallum allows us to see through Rick’s personal struggles that it is ok for men to break down and seek support when the time comes. Drawing in a number of side characters to this thread helped move the story along and it also supplied some extra character dynamics. The family mystery aspect that underscores Rick’s story was consuming and it definitely encouraged me to continue on with the novel to the end.

Fiona McCallum’s many years as a successful rural fiction novelist shine through in The Long Road Home. Although the rural aspects are not a huge chunk of the novel, McCallum’s descriptions of her locale and the setting base comes to life, thanks to her writing style. I enjoyed my sojourn to Hope Springs and Ballarat. It was a welcome armchair travel experience, reminding me of some picturesque places of our country that one day I hope to experience first-hand.

McCallum ties up her threads nicely in The Long Road Home. Readers who appreciate a happy ever after style close will be pleased with the final result. It was a delight to backtrack to Hope Springs and Ballarat with Alice, Rick and of course dear Bill, it proved to be a heartwarming experience.

The Long Road Home by Fiona McCallum was published on 23rd March 2020 by HQ Fiction – AU.

*I wish to thank Harper Collins Books Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.

The Long Road Home is book #43 of the 2020 Australian Women Writers Challenge

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be repetitive and Alice very annoying. None of the characters and behaviours were particularly strong.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good one but it took a while for me to get into and be part of the story. It was a bit slow. It had good bones as they say but I think it could have been expanded a bit more.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a bit like a self help book but I liked that. Learnt a lot about boundaries, narcissists and Aussie drinking culture. All in all a good read.

[readingwithcake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, don’t let the cover fool you, this book while being set in the beautiful countryside of Australia and in Ballarat, Victoria, deals with some heavy topics; narcissism, toxic masculinity, dysfunctional and seriously toxic/borderline abusive families. Our two main characters are Alice and Rick. They used to be married in their younger years and have found themselves in their 30s’ reconnecting. Part One is in the POV of Alice and Part Two is from Ricks’. I enjoyed this writing of the book as it allowed the reader to become fully invested in Alice before moving onto Ricks’ character. Parts of the book, especially towards the end, did seem a little over dramatised but it is a book and overall, I still really enjoyed it regardless of the OTT drama. I did like how the book didn’t go down the stereotypical path and throw Alice and Rick back at each other, they had both become new people and this wouldn’t have made sense. They both find happiness and I will let you discover with who when you read it. I really enjoyed the bromance that quickly formed between Blair and Rick, that was really nice and showed a side to male friendship not always shown or developed in books.

NOW there was a big bombshell that was dropped just over halfway through the book. And I didn’t really get it, like it seemed unnecessarily cruel, but I guess it was necessary for the book and I felt this did sort of lead the plotline down that over dramatic path that I wasn’t overly into. So, didn’t like the bombshell but it got us to the end of the story which I really liked. This book was a four-star read for me, it was written well, included good character development and it was written by an Australian author, set in Australia, which is an extra tick from me!

[Judy Cooney]

Continues on from A Life of her own.
Alice Hamilton is enjoying her new life in Ballarat with the freedom to explore her future now she's stepped away from the constraints of her upbringing. She's learnt the hard way that knowledge is power, and is looking forward to her legal studies.
Then her ex-husband comes back into her life.
This is a story about how when your life falls apart sometimes help can be found where you least expect it.
Fiona McCallum really is a master storyteller, and this book is no different.
This story was engaging, as comforting and entertaining. All the characters are complex with their own well-crafted personalities.
Fingers crossed for a third book in the series. I’m not done with these characters yet. The Long Road Home is a lovely read that transported me away for the day. I loved it.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed, I kept waiting for this book to get better, but it persisted in plodding along at a rather dull pace. There were moments of good, but in the end, I just found it too dull and taking too long to get to a point where I actually cared enough about the main characters to want to continue knowing about their lives.

[Debi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy reading this was like ploughing through a bog. Definitely not my cup of tea - totally banal, trite, unrealistic, annoying characters with copious pages of repetitive reflections going nowhere. No more chick lit for me. Blah!

[Sherryle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so grateful to finally read the ending to Alice's life. Fiona has a great gift in writing this really good book.

[Vicki Basham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good Australian story

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read the previous book in the Ballarat Series A Life of Her Own and thought it was a good read, so I was looking forward to reading this second one in the series. However in my opinion it was a fail on so many levels.

The first half of the book as others have already mentioned was tedious reading with Alice spending more time crying and others asking her if she was OK rather than anything worthwhile happening in the story. Then Alice became just a supporting character and her ex husband Rick became the main character in the second half of the book. Perhaps there was nothing left to say about Alice. The second half of the book picked up a little but it was still as though Fiona McCallum was trying to turn a novel into a self help book which just didn't work. Instead it came across as preachy and rather boring.

I also found the constant swearing throughout the book grating. The author should have been able to convey strong emotion in words without resorting to swear words. The book had an unrealistic storyline too. For example two couples met and were instantly and deeply attracted and they just happened to not want children in marriage. Now how likely is that in real life? Then every character connected in some way to Ballarat became good friends, even second family and they found their perfect partners among themselves, all of them wanting to settle down in Ballarat. In this case the fiction was more bizarre than anything that could have happened in real life.

[Vicki Robe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Hamilton has moved from Hope Springs to Ballarat away from her narcissistic mother and sister to start her new life of freedom and to study to become a lawyer. She recently went to a funeral back in Hope Springs and reconnected with her ex-husband, keeping in touch online and the occasional phone call.

Meanwhile, in Hope Springs Rick her ex has just lost his father really recently, and now his mother has been found dead in the pool. As he and his sister's start looking for their mother's will they make discoveries that everything is not as it seems for Rick.

Confused and hurt Rick immediately leaves Hope Springs and heads to Ballarat to see Alice and he has some leads also in Ballarat. As he starts investigating he finds many leads linking him to a past he had forgotten about and which will change his life.

A fabulous read with an excellent and very intriguing story line. A MUST read book!

[Dianne Sidebottom · Rating 5 out of 5]

continuation of Alice's story in Ballarat.
I did cheat going into part 2, the ending because I couldn't workout how it would. not really a spoiler for me. Alice found Blair, Lauren and Brett, Ashley met Rick and Frank found Sarah.
As I was reading I got caught up with my relationships/life being so close to Alice and her family.
Awareness now to patterns. (sorry and thanks that come automatic in dysfunctional ways. A learning curve for me to look out for. !)
Sometimes I thought of Hannah the previous book I read from Fiona. embrassing singleness and being childless.

[SWC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the Dedication. The number of times the word ‘narcissist’ and its variations were used it was not hard to understand the theme of the book. Nonetheless, I would have appreciated Dawn being presented as more than a one dimensional person. Even Joseph had good things said about him at his funeral. It is comforting to know, though, that in times of need there do exist people who can be supportive.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed this book,it wasn’t all about the continuation of Alice's story. I actually enjoyed following Rick's story and how it intersected with Alice. My one criticism, it all got a bit cheesy and too good to be true at the end. The stories of growth, secrets and finding oneself contained within were lovely.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was an absolute bore. I couldn’t even finish it - got to chapter 11. The main character Alice is annoying and repetitive. There is hardly a storyline - just her same whiny thoughts that are constantly bought up to herself and others around her. Would not recommend. Almost sounded like a self- help book for 30 year old single women rather than a fiction story.

[Tim Arundell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiona McCallum focussed on the stories of the two main characters Alice and Rick and their journeys in finding their true selves for various reasons in Ballarat. Their relationship and understanding of each other is heightened by the interactions with other characters in the story.

[Shelley Kinash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows on from ‘A Life of her Own’ continuing to follow the story of Alice. I enjoyed the read, but it was not as meaningful and significant as the first. I found my attention drifting in parts.

[Sarah Scowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dropped my rating down a star because of the ridiculous amount of swearing and significant blasphemy, without that the story would have been a 3-4 star novel. I will not waste money buying books by this author again.

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book we have read for a very long time. Great story Fiona. Kept us engaged throughout the whole book and resulted in a perfect ending except for Alice and Blair tying the knot was missing. Russell

[Deb Bodinnar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this continuation from Life of Her Own. Would like to find out what happens with this bunch of friends in the future.

[Robyn Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an ebook!!!! Loved the storyline. Very enjoyable.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Abby Nancarrow grimshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read.