If You Walk Long Enough

by Nancy Hartney

Returning from Vietnam to the family's Carolina tobacco farm two Marines find a place that isn't home anymore. Surrounded by political upheaval, southern prejudices, violence, and soul-deep loss and moral fatigue, they must grapple with respect, reconciliation, love—and letting go. But, then, there are the ghosts …

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2021

About the author

Nancy Hartney writes non-fiction and short stories. “Washed in Water: Tales from the South” is her debut collection of short stories July 2013.

Previously her short stories have appeared in Voices, a mid-west regional anthology, and Echoes of the Ozarks. Western fiction pieces appear in Cactus Country and Frontier Tales, print and e-zine editions.

Her non-fiction articles and photographs appear in The Chronicle of the Horse, Sidelines, and the Horsemen’s Roundup, where she writes on foxhunting, rodeo, horse events, and mule jumping. Her book reviews have appeared in the Ft. Worth (TX) Star Telegram, Fayetteville Free Weekly (AR); and, articles and photographs in American Iron, a motorcycle magazine. General interest pieces appear in the Northwest Arkansas Times, Ozark Mountaineer, and Flashback, the Washington County (AR) historical quarterly. Dead Mule, an e-zine, has published her work.

A member of the writing community, she works with the Ozark Writers League (MO), Ozark Creative Writers (AR), Tallahassee Writers Association (FL), and Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Reviews

[Tissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You Walk Long Enough is the story of Reid, a veteran who just came home from Vietnam; it’s the story of Eleanor, who married Reid before his deployment and has a secret she’s not ready to share; it’s the story of Joe, of Angela, of Diana, and Linh. Intersecting lives, each of them carrying a different burden.

[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups]

[Nancy Hartney]

See the review posted on ArkansasWriters.com at  Review: If You Walk Long Enough by Nancy Hartney – ArkansasWriters.com   Check it out.

[Madlyn F · Rating 5 out of 5]

If You Walk Long Enough by Nancy Hartney brings together a diverse but interconnected group of characters living with the traumatic effects of the Vietnam War. The war in Reid's head is more real to him than the Carolina tobacco farm where he has returned to find his old world upended. Joe, a black man recently returned from Vietnam to his family's nearby farm, sees changes in his world through a different lens. Reid's sister has been struggling to keep the farm going, his estranged wife battles with conflicted feelings for him and ways he's changed and she's coped in her world. Everywhere you turn, there is conflict and confusion.

I especially like how well we are shown how each character's circumstances were changed by the same central problem of the war and its fallout, how each has tried to make sense of it all in their own way. Nobody's struggle is the same, and each is alone even as they are interwoven.

At first I was a little disturbed by the way time jumped around from chapter to chapter. But as I read on, I realized how well this device recreated the shifting sands feeling I experienced in the late sixties and early seventies while I lived through them myself on the other side of the country.

In the end, I found this book to be an insightful and rich microcosm of the effects the war in Vietnam and all the surrounding chaos had on us all.

[Gerri Almand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-crafted novel captures the angst and difficulties of soldiers returning from Vietnam to a world that differed politically from the one they left, to family members who changed in their absence, and to the soldiers themselves who were damaged by the horrors of war. Set in the late sixties and early seventies, the book captures the turmoil of those turbulent times.

Former Marine Reid Holcombe returns from Vietnam to the failing South Carolina tobacco farm he and his sister inherited. Not wanting to farm, Reid nevertheless seeks sanctuary on the farm rather than returning to his wife Ellie. During Reid’s deployment, both Reid and Ellie became involved in other relationships but found themselves unable to sever their emotional bond following Reid’s return.

Hartney’s memorable characters, her vivid descriptions, and her capture of human conflicts rooted in decades of social, racial, and sexual divides make this a fast-paced, engaging read.

Reviewed by Gerri Almand, Author of The Reluctant RV Wife and Home Is Where the RV Is

[Joan Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Hartney has written a page turner! I’m really into this book. I like the metaphors, the descriptive passages, the dialogue, even though I feel like a slug for having been unsympathetic toward Vietnam Vets. It wasn’t their fault that our leaders sent them down a rabbit hole.
Her book should win an award. I mean it.
“If You Walk Long Enough” should be adopted for high school students to read.
I look forward to seeing the mini-series or the movie. I highly recommend reading this long over due story.
Joan B. Reid

[Su · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel gave me a chance to look back on the 70s, the issues young people faced, and social angst of the time that I didn't fully understand or think about then. Also, seems like many of these social dynamics, political turmoil are still going on. The novel began at a leisurely pace and then picked up momentum. I became caught up in the characters' lives. Beautiful metaphors, descriptions too.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times both sensitive and stark, this book shares the pain of the returning vet, who comes home to a world at once the same and vastly different. So too is he, and his family must come to grips with the changes and try to rebuild their lives with this new reality.

[Jill Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite. Moving.
I’ll be seeing Nancy Hartney speak later this week. I’m so glad I love her stories.

[Katrenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve ever read around the Vietnam war. It doesn’t focus on the war itself, but rather on one man’s return from the war. I got to hear the author speak about the book, and it prompted a great discussion amongst attendees on how the Vietnam soldiers returned solo and lacked support to transition back to normal life. The story does a good job of depicting this and was thought provoking.