The Road Towards Home

A Novel

By: Corinne Demas

Narrated by: David de Vries, Erin Bennett

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In this witty, warm novel by award-winning author Corinne Demas, unexpected changes bring two retirees together on a voyage of self-discovery from past regrets to the true meaning of happily ever after.

Widower Noah Shilling considers Clarion Court to be less an independent living community and more a prison. But there may be hope for the place yet. The newest resident is bold, eccentric, rule-breaking Cassandra Joyce—whom, as it turns out, Noah met long ago in college.

As Noah and Cassandra get reacquainted, major changes at Clarion Court force them both to reevaluate their living situation. When Noah invites Cassandra to rough it with him at his Cape Cod cottage, the old friends must decide whether they should risk embarking on the next stage of their journey together.

But moving forward means coming to terms with the past and relying on each other to do so, which is something the stubbornly independent pair may not be ready for. They’ve come this far on their own, and unless they can reconcile a lifetime of emotional baggage, the road they started down together may lead instead to parted ways.

©2023 Corinne Demas (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“How welcome and true: late love, beautifully and wryly rendered. Both light hearted and insightful, with age-defying charm and wit, The Road Towards Home is a totally satisfying (and identifiable!) read.”—Elinor Lipman, author of Ms. Demeanor and Rachel to the Rescue

“Corinne Demas is amazing! The Road Towards Home is about two opinionated, rigid, and, yes, curmudgeonly septuagenarians who will have you falling in love and rooting for them as they negotiate and argue their way to a last run at happiness. Noah and Cassandra are so believable that I’m certain I’ve been over at their house for dinner—and the dialogue between them made me laugh out loud and also shake my head at their stubbornness. I utterly adored this novel, which is filled with wisdom and generosity and heart, qualities that readers of all ages will appreciate.”—Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners

“When Noah (saved the world with a boat) meets Cassandra (sees the future way too clearly) at the aptly named Clarion retirement home, they are both seriously not getting with the program. Though barely acquainted, they agree to escape together. As they break free from the planned trajectory and plunge into the uncharted territory of each other, you’ll be rooting for the oldsters all the way. The Road Towards Home is a wonderful novel—engaging, wry, and genuinely touching.”—Valerie Martin, author of Property and I Give It To You

Retirement Community

Finally a realistic love story. It’s about time to have a romance novel that gives hope for your parents future or your own. That shows life is not perfect and love can be hard but possible to have again.

Excellent Audiobook

I highly recommend this audiobook. It is a wonderful character study and captures many thoughts and realities as we age, and have to make compensations in our life. This book is cleverly written with many smart and humorous banter.

Love

It’s sweet to know if your in their position at their age you can always find Love again!

Gentle & Thoughtful

I loved this story about regular people living their best lives, flaws, eccentricities, and all. I found it hope-building, a way of being to aspire toward. Being of-an-age, and wondering with no little aghast shock about that weird reality, aging is a puzzle. This book provides an interesting look at two characters to navigate the same existential questions, choices, and puzzle. Loved the tone, hope, and thought-provoking easy tale. Highly recommend.

Sweet

Great tale of love delayed and realized years later. Very sweet story about people that cross paths years down the road.

More books needed in this age group.

I felt melancholy through most of the book, I loved that the author addressed the fear of aging, the fear of finding love again and the fear of change.

A Love Story for the Post War generation

Sweet. Honest. Easy to read. I like that the next chapter didn’t necessarily pick up where the last left off.

Being of a similar age...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For the last couple decades I've thought that since I don't have children I'd better check myself into a senior living community on the early side while I still have the mental capacity to make the decision. Now, the older I get, the less interested I am in joining such a community. For the last couple decades I've lived in two places: one very remote, rugged, and off the grid, another closer to a town but in a more rural county. So I could totally identify with the frustrations of the characters in the first few chapters in the book, especially when their lifestyles change drastically due to arbitrary management decisions. And don't count on your kids to have a neutral opinion about when it's time for you to stop living independently! I agreed with all of the reviewers in their delight at finding a book that takes on the basic challenges of old age vs. independence.

An enjoyable experience

I found the story very believable and the characters equaly so. Kept my attention throughout.

Great book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Found myself chuckling out loud often. Easy to visualize the scenes and characters!