When the doctor pronounces “incurable cancer” and gives Bobbie Blake one year to live, she agrees to accompany her niece, Tracie, on a trip back to Austria, back to The Oasis, a ministry center for refugees that Bobbie helped start twenty years earlier. Back to where there are so many memories of love and loss. Bobbie and Tracie are moved by the plight of the refugees and in particular, the … particular, the story of the Iranian Hamid, whose young daughter was caught with a New Testament in her possession back in Iran, causing Hamid to flee along the refugee Highway and putting the whole family in danger. Can a network of helpers bring the family to safety in time? And at what cost?
Filled with action, danger, heartache and romance, The Long Highway Home is a hymn to freedom in life’s darkest moments.
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Wonderful story about true events happening in our world today. Courageous, romantic and intriguing. A book you did not want to put down or end.
My Penny’s Worth
So what’s the fuss about The Long Highway Home?
Elizabeth Musser has carefully constructed a fiction book about a reluctant refugee called Hamid. His innocent daughter whom Truth emboldens plunges the family into chaos and fear. However, you don’t just get his story, but the characters of his family and those helping him escape from a closed country. Each narrative fills out the broader saga, so the reader gets into the head of those involved in the telling.
There are many words of wisdom
Bobby who starts the story has a battle of her own to fight. But, she comes out with some wise one-liners.
“Each day is a twenty-four-hour adventure.”
“Do you think it’s fair to accept only the good and not the bad in life?”
Rasa the instant believer whose childlike faith warms the reader with wisdom beyond her years. Only a child could see beyond the fear and put trust in a God she had only just met.
Hamid who loves his ancient proverbs.
“If one has to jump a stream and knows how wide it is, he will not jump. If he does not know how wide it is, he will jump, and six times out of ten he will make it.”
A theme to encourage
Throughout the story the theme of pushing onward no matter what came bursting through.
“Thank the Lord that He respects our feelings, and yet He sees fit to push us forward in spite of them.”
Many of the characters questioned whether to go on or not. Their trials appearing insurmountable at times.
However, “Eyes of faith see potential. They look behind and know that the past was just a stepping-stone for the future.”
What I liked about the book
Even though there are many characters each plays a role in the developing jigsaw. As the story goes from one piece to another, you want to find the next piece that links the same story. It made you turn the pages. To care about different people. Reading about a refugee on the run is bound to pull you into the early hours of the morning, as you just want to finish the next chapter.
What I didn’t like
The smell of chickens – Check out the book to find out why!
You know what is going to happen
But, it doesn’t matter because it is how the story is told that is important and the lessons we learn by taking a chance and trusting in God. Because let’s face it:
“I don’t think God gets surprised very often.”
Would I recommend this book?
The book is about making good out of evil. “What men mean for evil, God can change into good.” This is a book of hope in so many ways. Lives may seem ruined but the truth remains: “So much of the time, the story God is writing goes on behind the earthly scene, somewhere in the heavenlies. But every now and then the Lord pulls back a curtain-slice of the sky and we get to see the bringing together of all the plot lines in real time.”
I would recommend The Long Highway Home for its revelations about the refugees and their struggle for freedom. For the amazing work, people do to help, often at their own risk, and to bring awareness of the plight of refugees.
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
I love books by Elizabeth Musser and this one DoD not disappoint. I had a hard time putting it down and could have read more about the characters.
Excellent well written book
Such wonderful insight into the life of refugees, especially political and religious. Also, it was a good reminder of the power of prayer and God’s redemption on so many levels.
I am not yet finished, but am enjoying it very much. It really gives insight into what refugees really experience.
I hated for this book to end. I love the way the author covered some of the problems in that area of the world. There were some pretty violent parts in the book but for me I was able to get through that part and on with the story. Loved the book and would recommend it for everyone.
I read this book in one sitting. I shed tears and I rejoiced. So good to read a book that is wholesome and encouraging and moving. I loved to hear the refugees stories. Natural stories of the struggles people have to come to Jesus (mostly because of our hangups) and mature.
I look forward to reading more from Elizabeth.
I loved this book because I’ve lived in Vienna and I recognized the setting. Now living in Berlin it’s impossible not to come in contact with refugees and I found the Oasis ministry inspiring and reminiscent of my missionary days. The ministry’s focus before and after the fall of communism was masterfully intertwined in the story. The book rang true and small details showed that the author knew what she was talking about. Characters were well developed and struggling with real issues. Very well done Elizabeth!