TOUGH TRAIL HOME
By Marie W. Watts
Women’s Literary / Small Town & Rural / Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 253
Publication Date: March 27, 2024
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“Tough Trail Home is a delightful read about a family coming to terms with each other and their new lives.” –Pamela Stockwell, author of A Boundless Place
The Dunwhitty family is flying high until their carefully choreographed life falls apart during the 2008 Great Recession. Lisa’s firm goes belly-up while Michael’s shuts down after selling faulty heart valves. Desperate, Lisa insists they regroup by seeking refuge in rural Central Texas on land she inherits from a distant relative she barely knows.
It’s not the ranch Lisa remembers, but a ramshackle money pit. Michael and their teenage son, Andrew, despise the place. Only their young daughter, Jessica, is happy. After a bitter argument, Michael moves to the city. As his job search drags on, Lisa begins to plant roots; friendships develop for her and the children. With the help of Michael’s parents, her neighbor, and the remains of her savings, she begins to return the ranch to its former glory. The couple continues to drift further apart, Michael turning his attention to another woman.
A call from the sheriff’s department that their son is in custody jolts the couple to the core. Can they repair their relationship for the sake of their son? Or is it too late?
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This is a story that was hard for me to really enjoy at first. Lisa, the main character, and Jessica, her daughter were the two characters I liked right away and was invested in what would happen to them as the story progressed. Andrew, the son, was drawn too much like a surly, over-indulged teen, and we never get to know why he’s so surly. And Michael, the husband? I just wanted to punch him. He was not a redeeming character at all until the very end of the story, which then ended so abruptly we didn’t get to see the other side of his character arc.
That said, there were many parts of the book I truly enjoyed, especially the scenes at the ranch. I liked witnessing Lisa’s determination to somehow make the ranch profitable so she could support herself and her kids, and it was a pleasure to see how she slowly opened up to meet new friends and begin to trust them. And to trust her own heart.
One of the people she meets is her neighbor, Carl, who had been a good friend to her uncle and aunt who owned the ranch Lisa inherited. He is a strong character and his desire to reconcile with a son he’d lost contact with is a nice “heart” moment in the story. Lisa learns that she can succeed when she doesn’t try to do it all alone. At a most devastating moment in the story, it is Carl and her other friends, along with Michael’s parents who step in with welcomed help.
Jessica is also a terrific character. Her optimism and enjoyment of the ranch made me smile, and I really appreciated the fact that she never got ugly with her mom when Lisa was obsessing about the girl’s weight. That was an element of Lisa’s character I really didn’t like, but Jessica gets over a momentary flare of anger quickly and is back to the happy young girl we meet at first.
It was interesting to read a story set during the recession of 2008 and the experience of the Dunwhitty family is a reminder that a lot of people lost jobs and homes and much more during that recession. And they all had to find their own Tough Trail Home. This story truly showcases the courage and determination necessary to build a new life when all seems hopeless. Despite my quibbles this is a book well worth the read.
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An award-winning author, Marie W. Watts is living her dream of being a writer. Her novel, Tough Trail Home, has received acclaim as a winner of the 2024 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award Summer Competition for Fiction – Women’s Genre; Winner in the 2024 Storytrade Book Awards “Regional Fiction ‐ USA Southwest” category; 2024 Speak Up Talk Radio International Firebird Book Award Winner, and The Outstanding Creator Award for Best Fiction Book of Summer 2024 (2nd place).
Her novel has garnered reviews such as “inspiring,” “fantastic read,” “beautiful scenery, heart, and hope,” and “a wonderful story about resilience and resourcefulness.”
She and her husband live on a ranch in central Texas. In her spare time, she supports a historic house and hangs out with her grandsons.
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Giveaway! Three winners will receive autographed copies of the book. Ends 11/03/2024 U.S. Only
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