Tom's Life Bits

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===== Walk Synopsis =====

The Walk: A Novel (Walk Series)\\
According to legend, once the sand of Key West is in your shoes, you cannot go back from whence you came. It is true for me. I’m alone on the beach watching the blood-red sun baptized in the Gulf of Mexico. And there is no returning to what I left behind.

The air is saturated with the smells of salt water and kelp and the sounds of breaking waves and screeching seagulls. Some part of me wonders if this might be a dream and hopes I’ll wake in bed and find that I’m still in Seattle, and McKale is gently running her fingernails up and down my back. She would whisper, “Are you awake, my love?” I would turn to her and say, “You’ll never believe what I just dreamed.”

But it’s no dream. I’ve walked the entire length of the country. And the woman I love is never coming back.

The water before me is as blue as windshield wiper fluid. I feel the twilight breeze against my unshaven, sunburned face, and I close my eyes. I’ve come a long way to get here—nearly 3,500 miles. But, in ways, I’ve come much further. Journeys cannot always be measured in physical distance.

Summary

This is the first book in The Walk series, a story about the physical and spiritual journey of Alan Christoffersen.

What would you do if you lost everything—your job, your home, and the love of your life—all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts. A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. Instead, he decides to take a walk. But not any ordinary walk. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life—and inspire yours.

Reviews

“Evans’ latest inspirational novel is the first in a planned series about a man who sets out to walk across the country in the wake of a personal tragedy. At 28, Alan Christoffersen is the head of his own successful ad company, and madly in love with his wife, McKale. His life seems truly charmed, until McKale has an accident while horseback riding. She is left paralyzed, and to stay by her side, Alan leaves his business in the hands of his partner, Kyle, which proves to be a terrible misstep when Kyle cruelly betrays him. Then McKale dies. Bereft, Alan throws off the trappings of his old life and, with little more than a backpack and a tent, sets out to walk from his home in Bellevue, Washington, all the way to Key West, Florida. The idea of a man leaving on a soul-searching cross-country trek is an intriguing one, and the pages turn quickly. Future installments will prove whether Evans’ concept holds up, but this initial offering is definitely a journey worth taking.” –Booklist

Richard’s Notes

At the end of The Walk series I’m planning on hosting a huge “Walk party” in Key West, Florida. Mark your calendars.

As I began writing The Walk it quickly became apparent that I couldn’t write this book without experiencing Alan’s path, so my daughter and I flew to Seattle, rented a car and began our trek. The idea of driving across America with my daughter is an exciting one.

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