The Longest Ride

By: Nicholas Sparks

Narrated by: Ron McLarty, January LaVoy

From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming destructive secrets -- and finding joy together.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.
A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.
Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

Critic reviews

"Sparks is a poet . . . a master."—Philadelphia Inquirer

"Epic Sparks . . . showcases the author's most accomplished work to date . . . There are moments of perfection . . . Reaching not only young and old, the novel is commingled with enough cowboy action, literary flavor, and a maturing gift for dialogue to reach across the sexes."—Mountain Times (NC)

"These parallel love stories are each rich in their own right, but together, they tell a broader and more complicated tale of love's growth and evolution over time . . . some surprising twists right up until the very end."—BookReporter.com

I Understand!

Nicholas Sparks does it again. A heart warming story unlike most of his previous works, but still all about people, and the unexpected juncture at which they meet. At this stage of my life, this book reminded me again to appreciate the wonderful wife I have also been blessed to share a life with. It reminded me to treasure the time we still have together, and to make the most of every moment. I even had the privilege to listen to the audiobook with her as we worked our farm and prepare produce for the market. Without giving away anything specific, rest assured, this is one of Nicholas' feel-good stories!

Love it!

couldn't out this book down. amazing love story. even my kids enjoyed listening to it.

Love love love

Amazing performance! the movie is one of my favorites, but it’s different from the book which made me like the book even more!

The reader

I have read this book already and I didn't like how the woman reads mostly all the book they needed to have a man read the parts of Luke.

Heart swelling read!

Beautiful. Narrator the best!. Loved it! i could not move away from ending till finished.