Every Beaten Path

by Sarah Jenkins

When Nick Miller left his father's house at eighteen to pursue a music career, he had no intention of coming back. But years later when a night of heavy drinking ends in tragedy, returning home becomes his only option. Painful childhood memories surface as tensions escalate between him and his father, driving Nick toward a dangerous path of self-destruction. Music is his only refuge, the one thing holding him together. Until he meets Jess.

Jess Neill is struggling too. Shattered by grief, she has taken comfort in closing herself off from the world, despite pressure to move forward from her overprotective brother, Mark. The harder Mark pushes, the more distant Jess becomes. . . until she meets a brilliant musician with a beautiful gift who seems to understand her pain in a way no one else can.

With Jess's help, Nick may finally be able to make amends with his father and rebuild his broken life. But he has much to learn about family, friendship, and his place in the world before he can pick up the pieces and start over, and he'll risk losing everything if he cannot learn how to love himself and let go of the past.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

Sarah is a Nashville-based author of speculative fiction. You can find her hosting the creativity podcast Coffee & Words on YouTube, cohosting the human interest podcast Two Broad Casters and the reading, writing, and publishing podcast The Way We Word on all podcast platforms. She serves as president of the Fairview Arts Council in Fairview, Tennessee, where she continues to promote the importance of supporting local artists and providing spaces for all forms of creativity. Sarah is a former theater director and acting coach, and a devoted youth mentor in her community.

Reviews

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one! Any book that has to do with music and/or a musician gets me every time. The character development throughout the story felt realistic and not rushed. I loved every character! I felt the pain each character endured, even when I was frustrated at some of the decisions they made. The gradual friendship between Jess and Nick felt natural. They both seemed to be exactly what the other needed. As a die-hard Pearl Jam fan, I loved those references too!

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written story about hard places in life. Loved it.