The Long Journey to Jake Palmer

by James L. Rubart Narrated by James Rubart

Overview

What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?

Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves--yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.

When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake--about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one's deepest longings will be fulfilled.

Jake scoffs at the idea, but can't shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.

But "fixing things" is rarely that simple, and Jake's journey to healing will become more treacherous with each step he takes.

• Christy Award winner for Best Visionary Novel in 2017
• Standalone novel

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2017 - AudioFile

James Rubart, author and narrator of this audiobook, spins a morality tale with a man named Jake Palmer at the center of the story. While attempting an act of heroism, Jake, a mild-mannered management trainer, is lit on fire and horribly burned—disfigured from the waist down. When he loses his successful business and beautiful wife as a result, he responds by retreating into himself. Rubart knows his character well and makes all of Jake’s anguish terrifyingly real. To try to heal, Jake goes on a soul-searching retreat at a lakeside cabin, where he has a mystical experience that opens his eyes to God. Rubart’s voice is versatile, ranging from booming to a whisper of wonder. His dual skills as writer and narrator give listeners a satisfying story. E.E.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 05/23/2016
Jake Palmer feels he is on a dead-end road. A corporate trainer who teaches others that everyone is a bottle with a blank label, Jake actually suspects that his own label says he’s not enough. After a physical confrontation at a gas station in Washington state leaves Jake severely burned and his marriage begins to deteriorate, Jake slowly succumbs to self-deprecation and depression. Although his heart isn’t in it, he agrees to join his friends for an annual summer gathering at a lake house. Though he has helped his friends a lot with their own lives, Jake is bitter and no longer trusts God due to the accident that changed his life forever. While leaving a disastrous business trip in Chicago on an airplane, Jake meets straight-talking Leonard, who had snuck into his motivational lecture. In the course of the ride, Leonard persuades Jake to start afresh this year at Willow Lake, where local legend has it that a corridor at the end of the lake is a portal leading to the heart’s desire. Entwined nicely with Jake’s work concerning personal reflection and self-knowledge, the concept quickly takes over the story’s momentum. Rubart’s (The Five Times I Met Myself) style is candid and unobtrusive, making it easy to visualize the beauty and peace of the lake house. Key themes of forgiveness, rebirth, and emotional healing emerge organically through Jake’s struggles. Rubart will leave readers inspired to ponder what the label is on their bottle.(Aug.)

RT Book Reviews

4 1/2 stars. 'Rubart has done it again with another uniquely written, stellar novel. The author comes up with the most original, thought-provoking concepts that readers can take lessons from to apply to their own lives. On the surface, the story is engaging. Jake is a fascinating character with many layers and hidden pain. Yet delve deeper and there is a gold mine full of spiritual and personal treasures to uncover. Who wouldn't want to find a mysterious corridor that grants your deepest desires?'

Andy Andrews

'If you think fiction can't change your life and challenge you to be a better person, you need to read The Five Times I Met Myself.'

From the Publisher

'If you think fiction can't change your life and challenge you to be a better person, you need to read The Five Times I Met Myself.'--Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of How Do You Kill 11 Million People, The Noticer, & The Traveler's Gift

'Entwined nicely with Jake's work concerning personal reflection and self-knowledge, the concept quickly takes over the story's momentum. Rubart's (The Five Times I Met Myself) style is candid and unobtrusive, making it easy to visualize the beauty and peace of the lake house. Key themes of forgiveness, rebirth, and emotional healing emerge organically through Jake's struggles. Rubart will leave readers inspired to ponder what the label is on their bottle.'--Publishers Weekly

4 1/2 stars. 'Rubart has done it again with another uniquely written, stellar novel. The author comes up with the most original, thought-provoking concepts that readers can take lessons from to apply to their own lives. On the surface, the story is engaging. Jake is a fascinating character with many layers and hidden pain. Yet delve deeper and there is a gold mine full of spiritual and personal treasures to uncover. Who wouldn't want to find a mysterious corridor that grants your deepest desires?'--RT Book Reviews

Library Journal

★ 09/01/2016
Jake Palmer's life is irrevocably changed when a freak accident burns over half his body. His self-worth always hinged on what he could do, not who he was. Ironically, Jake's motivational speaking career helps others find their inner self-worth while he is unable to do the same. A chance meeting with a stranger on a plane causes him to reconsider his life, offering Jake an opportunity he can't refuse. But our protagonist discovers that true healing can only come from acknowledging the wounds within. VERDICT Two-time Christy Award winner Rubart's (The Five Times I Met Myself) mesmerizing tale about one man's journey of self-realization, forgiveness, and healing, will be appreciated by fans of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead or Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea. Book clubs will find lots of meaty ideas here.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170497553
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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