Gone the Hard RoadGone the Hard Road

"Gone the Hard Road is the story of a mother's endurance and sacrifice, and the gift of imagination she gave her son. Extending Lee Martin's acclaimed first memoir, From Our House, which told the story of the farming accident that cost his father both his hands and led to his rage, this new book focuses more on Martin's mother and the world she created for him within their unsettled family life. From the first time she read to him in a doctor's office waiting room, to her enrolling him in a children's book club, to the first time she took him to a public library, to the books she bought him when he was in high school, this narrative portrays the selfless actions she took, sometimes despite her husband's opposition, to show her son a different way of living. Whereas From Our House and Martin's second memoir, Such a Life, concentrated on the life his father threatened to destroy, Gone the Hard Road tells the story of a loving mother and the life she made possible, even though she knew the eventual cost to herself. A poignant, honest, and moving read, Martin's story about leaving home will stay with anyone who has ever struggled to find their place in the world"--