Where the Road to Tomorrow Leads

This, is a really important book. There’s probably very little I can do to urge all of you to go out and read this book. It’s not a fun story, it’s not light and fluffy, but it was worth every second I spent on it. Whether you’ve been an abuse victim or not, you probably know one, and this book is a great example of what kind of hell abuse victims go through. It’s also a great example of what it feels like and how it affects your psyche to live with & fear and abuser.

It’s been worth so much in fact, I had to blog about it a few days ago and share a couple banana and bread recipes.

The characters are so real, well they could be real people, and they often are. Andrea, Sean and the children are people you’ll come to love and hate by the end of the first page.

Metcalfe’s command of characters is simply amazing, and I found Andrea so relatable it was almost scary. You see, I know what it’s like to be her. I also know what it’s like to finally find somewhere safe, and start building a home again.

Clearly, I don’t mean building in the literal sense, but my own sense of home encompasses something much greater than a building.

If it didn’t, the sub zero-temperatures would have scared me off by now.

That home up there, much like the people that Andrea and her children find is actually very warm and inviting. Each neighbor is respectful of the other, and we actually have ‘tea parties’ and pot-lucks and visit on the weekends. In the summer, my yard is turned (by everyone in the house no less) into an urban oasis full of vegetables, roses and hide-y-holes and secret garden corners.

I never thought I’d have that again. Andrea from Road to Tomorrow NEVER thought she’d find peace and happiness again.

I am really glad my family unequivocally supported me through everything. They always have. When I finally made it through the divorce shadows, and looked at the other side, it took me a really long time to figure out who I was again. It took even longer to trust, and much longer to restore any sort of hope or faith I had in myself for the future.

It’s been 9 years, but while I read the book I felt like I’d been transported back in time to the day I left my own abusive relationship. It was a difficult read, but I think it was an important one.

Today, nine years later, I have a crazy little house, filled only with people I love and a weird-ass kitchen to make them all the food I love and grew up with.

So, yesterday when I was not-blogging – I was making this. It tastes earthy, and everything in it was either grown in my yard, or from a local supplier.

Soup reminds me of home. You have to let it simmer, and it takes forever to cook. (I’ll admit some of my soups take days to cook and create properly.) Soup is not something you make when you’re on the run, or don’t have a place to call home, but it’s something that make everyone feel a little more at peace. Your belly is full, its warm and soothing, and the smell will invariably remind you of home – whether you’re there or not.

Squash of Some Sort? Soup

I’m not really positive what type of squash I used, but I cut it in half, jabbed it with a fork, turned it skin up on a baking sheet and put about a 1/2 inch of water in the pan. I then added some maple syrup (from a local producer of course!) and cooked it very slowly in the oven until I could scoop out the middle.

I even made it in this pot.

It’s been around and followed me everywhere so far.
(CC) BY-NC-ND Naomi Leadbeater

I combined my squash with 2 cups of vegetable stock, 2 cups of sour cream, 2 cups of cream and blended until it was a paste.

For veggies, I added about 2 cups of cubed green peppers (next time I’ll use red), 2 cups of cauliflower, and 1 cup of celery.

Spices included red curry powder, lots of ground black pepper, sea salt and dried onion bits. I also added a bit of garlic powder, but this is one of the few soups I make that I’d caution anyone JUST A LITTLE bit of garlic. If you add too much it gets an acrid awful taste when it combines with the sweetness of the squash and maple syrup.

You should try it. It’s delicious. I really do mean both the book and the soup.

Happy Reading!

About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!

About the book: Andrea Garrett is trying to escape her abusive marriage. Fearing for her life, she leaves her two small children with her twin brother and flees her home the day before her husband is due to arrive back from a tour of duty. After falling asleep at the wheel and landing in a ditch, her life takes on a new direction when strangers step in and introduce her to a life she could only have imagined and one that could save her soul and give her children the future they deserve. Get Road to Tomorrow through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Mary Metcalfe lives in the foothills of the Laurentians, northeast of Ottawa, Canada with her husband, three cats and a very large dog. Love of writing runs in the family. Their daughter is a published literary non-fiction author. Clarion Review described Mary’s debut novel as a “sparkling debut… readers will love being swept along by Winds of Change.”Road to Tomorrow is her third novel in the Look to the Future series. Connect with Mary on her website, blog, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.

About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of  Road to Tomorrow! Here’s what you need to do…

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog.

That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Road to Tomorrow tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

* Did I make that clear enough? Go read this book if you’ve ever had a friend, lover or just an aquantaince who has been in an abusive relationship. While everyone’s experience isn’t exactly the same as Andrea’s Metcalfe’s book goes a long way to explaining what goes on inside the head of an abuse victim. It’s eye-opening and important, and I hope you’ll take the time to check her out. Oh, and P.S. she’s Canadian. I’ve even had a few of my own escapades in her city. Check her out!

 

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• Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (jailavie.com)
• Thai Butternut Squash Soup (itsallaboutmefitness.com)
• Classic Reads Blog Hop & something to fill your shelf with (naimeless.wordpress.com)

 

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