By Iola Goulton
This review previously appeared at Iola's Christian Reads, and is reposted here today because the ebook versions are currently on sale in honour of World Refugee Day (20 June).
An Outstanding Story of Christian Faith
The Long Highway Home is the story of Bobbie, an ex-missionary who has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer at the age of 39. It’s the story of Tracie, Bobbie’s niece, who accompanies her to Europe, to visit the missionaries she used to serve with before tragedy sent her back to the US. It’s the story of Hamid, a devout Muslim who is forced to flee Iran after a well-meaning missionary gives his six-year-old daughter a New Testament. But my favourite character is Rasa, the child with a faith that puts mine to shame.The structure of The Long Highway Home is more like a thriller novel than the women’s fiction and romance I’m more used to reading. There are a lot of viewpoint characters spanning the US, Holland, France, Austria, and Iran. Unlike most thrillers, it’s always obvious who the characters are and how they are related, which kept me turning pages to find out how they’d eventually be brought together.
The author has drawn on her own missionary experiences in writing this excellent novel.
This shines through in both the story of Hamid and his family, and in the advice from some of the minor characters (e.g. Peggy, the elderly prayer warrior who supports Bobbie). These sound like real conversations Ms Musser has had in her years as a missionary—stories of the refugees who survived the refugee highway and made it to The Oasis in Austria.
It’s a story of human courage in the face of adversity, persecution, and possible death.
It’s a story of hope, of perfect love driving out fear. It challenges our views of refugees by introducing us to real refugees—we know Hamid and Rasheed and Rasa and Omid aren’t real people, but at the same time their stories have that ring of truth, of authenticity. They could be real stories. They may well be.
After all, significant elements of the story are real.
The Oasis is a real place, and welcomes volunteers and short-term missionaries (and long-term missionaries!) to support its outreach to refugees in Austria. Elizabeth Musser is a missionary with International Teams, an organisation dedicated to helping those who survive the refugee highway. World Wide Radio was inspired by the real-life work of Trans World Radio, which broadcasts in 230 languages to reach listeners in 160 countries.
It’s inspiring and humbling to read about people like this—missionaries who are risking their lives to bring the gospel to others. Refugees who are risking their lives to escape a government that wants them dead. Normal, everyday people who are doing extraordinary things every day.
Recommended.
Thanks to Elizabeth Musser for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Elizabeth Musser at her website, and you can read her Friday Fifteen here.
You can read the introduction to The Long Highway Home below:
About Iola Goulton
I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nzto download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.
You can also find me on:
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I sat next to Elizabeth at a meal at last year's ACFW and so enjoyed hearing of her role ministering to missionaries all over Europe.
ReplyDeleteThe Long Highway Home sounds like a fascinating read. Thanks Iola for sharing it with us.
I'm sure she's a fascinating dinner companion!
DeleteA lot of The Long Highway Home is based on her experiences or those of people she has met. It is definitely a fascinating read.
Great review, Iola, so I just downloaded it to my Kindle.
ReplyDelete