Once, a long time ago, I walked down a night-darkened road called Firefly Lane, all alone, on the worst night of my life, and I found a kindred spirit. That was our beginning. More than thirty years ago. TullyandKate. You and me against the world. Best friends forever. But stories end, don’t they? You lose the people you love and you have to find a way to go on. . . . Tully Hart has always been … Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate—to be there for Kate’s children—but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.
Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother’s death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.
Dorothy Hart—the woman who once called herself Cloud—is at the center of Tully’s tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter’s side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs.
A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another—and maybe a miracle—to transform their lives.
An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.
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I was blown away by Fly Away. It was really the sequel that brought closure to the first book, Firefly Lane. It was an emotional read and there were so many train wrecks that had to be resolved. Love conquers all in this story and there is hope. Great book and a great look into the inner workings of so many of the characters. I highly recommend this book.
This is truly a love story for the people left behind.
I read Firefly Lane and had some mixed feelings about the characters but I liked the book. I read it because of the Netflix series coming out I prefer to read first then watch.
The series was nothing like the book. Strange to read the book, watch the show that was so different then I listened to this book while working- 2 days.
I couldn’t stop listening.
This book is mostly about Tully and Marah after they lose her mother, and we even get more background on Dorothy- Tully’s mom.
I cried, laughed and cried more.
Beautifully written
I enjoyed this follow up book to “Firefly Lane”. The author took a deep dive in to the pasts and motivations of the main female characters. It was an emotional roller coaster. The author seamlessly and effectively wove the past and present of these characters, and showed a good understanding of human nature in such a way that everyone could/would recognize parts of themselves in these characters. Would like to have seen a little more background and motivation for the main male character as he was also a driving force in the story. Occasionally the book was somewhat repetitive. Overall, a really good read.
This is the only book by this author that I did not like. When I finished it I felt it was
Written by someone else. It was a sequel to Firefly Lane which I really enjoyed.
I am one of the few people that did not love Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, but boy did I love Fly Away! This was an outstanding follow-up, and it was nice to get more TullyandKate. The main reason I didn’t love Firefly, was because I just could not stand the way Tully acted and how much she got away with when it came to Kate. I somehow found her to be a much better character in Fly Away for the most part and I was so glad Hannah brought us more of her backstory as well as her mother Dorothy’s. Understanding Dorothy’s past was the key to realizing why Tully ended up the way she did, and there is so much pain and trauma in this novel. It was a very heavy read, but I loved every minute of it.
Hannah seems to be the queen of the long novel and the audio for Fly Away comes in at a whopping 16 hours and 4 minutes. This as well as the first book are definitely 2 of the longest books I have listened to so far in my short audiobook life, but the audio was done incredibly well and I loved the narrator, Susan Ericksen. She narrates the first book as well and I love that things stayed consistent, and she was the narrator for this one too. I highly recommend the audio since it is fantastic, but I was also happy to have a physical copy to get the content in the back of the book (I have the newer paperback edition). This was a great standalone novel, but I do think it would be best to read Firefly Lane first so you don’t end up with spoilers. I love the unorthodox approach Hannah took with Fly Away, and I am so happy I read it.
What a great follow up to Firefly Lane. Kristin Hannah deals out the grief, heartache, downward spiral and recovery of the families in a devastatingly beautiful way. Like only she can.
An excellent follow up to Firefly Lane for those of us who needed closure on what happened to these characters in life after Kate. If you liked Firefly Lane you will definitely like Fly Away as well.
I was afraid to buy this book. I read so many bad reviews, and yet I had to know. I had to know what happened to TullyandKate. I’m so glad I bought it. It was wonderful. It was addictive. I couldn’t put it down. It will be many days before I can start another book. This book, about second chances, and forgiveness and love. It is a book about remembering. It was a book that needed to be written, and the author wrapped me in her words and showed me what healing can be. Thank you Kristin Hannah for this beautifully written treasure.
following on from Firefly lane, its a must read
I hope the author writes a second sequel.
Great book, get your tissues handy, I believe there will be a movie made from this book, if you’ve not read it, I highly recommend that you do!
Awesome book
Wonderful characters, wonderful story, wonderful book. The story of Kate & Tully continues as life twists and turns as Tully gets a second chance at life, this time with Kate’s daughter Marah Ryan. Grab a box of tissues and enjoy the ride!
I NEEDED this book after reading Firefly Lane! It wasn’t quite as gripping, but it gave me the closure I so desperately needed. I’m not sure how much I would enjoy it as a stand-alone novel.
Thought provoking
I have mixed feelings about this book. While it’s a readable realistic story and the characters are interesting, there is quite a bit of ‘cliche language’ that I get tired of reading. There are lots of flashbacks from different points of view and different characters; it feels like you are re-reading the same story over and over again, and you’ll never get to the end of this book. It really makes it drag. It’s a very dramatic, depressing story. I didn’t realize that this was part of a series, and would have liked to read book #1 first.
This is my first book from this author. I am not sure I’ll try another one of her books. I know she is considered a good writer. Maybe I should have started with another one of her books…
If this hadn’t been an audible book that I listened to while commuting/walking to work everyday, I may not have finished it.
This is the sequel to Firefly Lane. It is 4 years later. Katie has died, and Tully has lost her job and her fame and is drinking heavily and taking Xanax for panic attacks. Johnny’s eldest daughter, Marah, has run away from home at age 20 and he hasn’t heard from her in a year. The families have not recovered from Katie’s death and realize that she was the glue that held them all together.
It takes a life threatening accident that Tully has to bring the families back together and realize what they meant to each other. They start to mend old wounds and stitch their lives back together in Katie’s absence, knowing this is what she would have wanted.
This was a pretty good book. I do like Kristen Hannah’s writing, and Firefly lane was one of my favorite (yet soul crushing) books. I was excited to find this sequal in our local public library here in Switzerland, because I wasn’t aware that there was one. I did roll my eyes a few times at the “love and hugs” sections near the end when everything worked out well. But for the most part, it was a well written story. I think a lot of it could be reality when a family loses their strongest family member and doesn’t know what to do in their absence. What happens when all the well wishers have expected you to be over your grief, and moved on with your life, and you are not. You wouldn’t want to think that your difficult teenage daughter would run away and basically be homeless because she couldn’t deal with her mother’s death, but the reality is – without good support, that could happen easily.
I say check it out. If you read Firefly Lane, you will love this book.
Love to read her books!
Ive read all of her books……never disappointed. Always unique…stand alone books.
First book I read of hers was Firefly Lane…I’ve read and reread it several times.
My favorite is The Nightingale….plan to reread it too.
sad