Far from Here
How long do you hold on to hope?
Danica Greene has always hated flying, so it was almost laughable that the boy of her dreams was a pilot. She married him anyway and together, she and Etsell settled into a life where love really did seem to conquer all. Danica is firmly rooted on the ground in Blackhawk, the small town in northern Iowa where they grew up, and the wide slashes of sky that stretch endlessly across the prairie seem more than enough for Etsell. But when the opportunity to spend three weeks in Alaska helping a pilot friend presents itself, Etsell accepts and their idyllic world is turned upside down. It’s his dream, he reveals, and Danica knows that she can’t stand in the way. Ell is on his last flight before heading home when his plane mysteriously vanishes shortly after takeoff, leaving Danica in a free fall. Etsell is gone, but what exactly does gone mean? Is she a widow? An abandoned wife? Or will Etsell find his way home to her? Danica is forced to search for the truth in her marriage and treks to Alaska to grapple with the unanswerable questions about her husband’s mysterious disappearance. But when she learns that Ell wasn’t flying alone and that a woman is missing, too, the bits and pieces of the careful life that she had constructed for them in Iowa take to the wind. A story of love and loss, and ultimately starting over, Far From Here explores the dynamics of intimacy and the potentially devastating consequences of the little white lies we tell the ones we love.
MY REVIEW: Danica Greene, the heroine of author Nicole Baart's compelling novel "Far From Here", was just sixteen when she met the man of her dreams. Three years later, she married him and together they built a life together, working around her fear of flying and his life as a pilot and flight instructor. When Danica's husband, Etsell, accepts an offer to help a friend and spend several weeks in Alaska, she is not pleased that she was not consulted in his decision. Shortly after takeoff on a test run, his plane vanishes, and Danica's life becomes a nightmarish emotional limbo. The news that Etsell was accompanied on the trip by another woman is unbearable and unfathomable. Was everything that Danica thought to be true about their lives simply her refusal to see things without blinders? Danica's struggle to cope with her crippling pain and personal doubt is intensified by interference of her highly dysfunctional family, the watchful eyes of her very small community, and her own reaction to the empathy offered by her neighbor, Ben. A bombshell revelation about Etsell's relationship with the other woman further complicates her fight to regain control of her existence. You can't read this story without placing yourself in Danica's shoes, feeling her pain and confusion, and rebelling against the cruelty of a fate unknown. This is the story of a remarkable woman whose inner strength and mental fortitude are tested in ways that she could never have imagined. You will follow her through to the end of her eventful emotional journey and weep at her sorrows and share in her smiles. A recommended read.
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Reviews
“Nicole Baart is a writer of immense strength. Her lush,
beautiful prose, her finely drawn characters, and especially her quirky
women, all made Far From Here a book I couldn’t put down.” -- Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of Prayers for Sale and The Bride’s House
“Far From Here was a rare journey to a place that left me healed and renewed by the end of this beautiful, moving novel. A tribute to love in all its forms—between a man and a wife, between sisters, and among mothers and daughters—my heart ached while I read Far From Here, but it ached more when I was done and there were no more pages to turn.” -- Nicolle Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of Eighteen Acres
“Nicole Baart is a huge talent who has both a big voice and something meaningful to say with it. Far From Here is a gorgeous book about resilient people living in a broken world, finding ways to restore hope and even beauty in the pieces.” -- Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
"Far From Here, Nicole Baart's tale of the certainties of absolute fear and the uncertainty of love whirls the reader up and never lets go.” -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author, The Deep End of the Ocean, and Second Nature: A Love Story
“This gorgeously composed novel is a candid and uncompromising meditation on the marriage of a young pilot and his flight-fearing wife, their personal failings, and finding the grace to move beyond unthinkable tragedy. . . . Pulsing with passion and saturated with lush language, Baart's [Far From Here] will leave an indelible mark.” —Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
ALSO BY NICOLE BAART
The Beautiful Daughters
From the highly acclaimed author of Far From Here and Sleeping in Eden, described as “intense and absorbing from the very first page” (Heather Gudenkauf), comes a gripping new novel about two former best friends and the secrets they can’t escape.
Adrienne Vogt and Harper Penny were closer than sisters, until the day a tragedy blew their seemingly idyllic world apart. Afraid that they got away with murder and unable to accept who they had lost—and what they had done—Harper and Adri exiled themselves from small-town Blackhawk, Iowa, and from each other. Adriran thousands of miles away to Africa while Harper ventured down a more destructive path closer to home.
Now, five years later, both are convinced that nothing could ever coax them out of the worlds in which they’ve been living. But unexpected news from home soon pulls Adri and Harper back together, and the two cannot avoid facing their memories and guilt head-on. As they are pulled back into the tangle of their fractured relationships and the mystery of Piperhall, the sprawling estate where their lives first began to unravel, secrets and lies behind the tragic accident are laid bare. The former best friends are forced to come to terms with their shared past and search for the beauty in each other while mending the brokenness in themselves.
Nicole Baart’s lush and lyrical writing has been called “sparkling” (Publishers Weekly), “taut and engrossing” (Booklist), and “evocative and beautiful” (Romantic Times). The Beautiful Daughters is another exquisitely rendered, haunting story that will stay with readers long after the last page.
Praise for The Beautiful Daughters:
“Oh, the dark secrets that can be hidden in the openness of the Iowa landscape. Nicole Baart has given us such fully drawn characters and compelling relationships that only the hardest of hearts wouldn't be won over by The Beautiful Daughters.”--William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and Windigo Island
“Compelling and exquisite.... Baart has crafted an unforgettable novel filled with characters and places so rich, they spill from the pages in beautiful, slow motion passages that you’ll savor again and again. The Beautiful Daughters is one of those special novels that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.” -- Roberta Gately, author of Lipstick in Afghanistan and The Bracelet
“The Beautiful Daughters is a captivating story that showcases Nicole Baart’s strong suits. Her sense of place and characters, her understanding of relationship dynamics, and her ability to craft a compelling plot filled with emotional highs and lows all make for an engrossing, fast-paced novel that will thrill fans of women’s fiction.” -- Kellie Coates Gilbert, author of Where Rivers Part
"An ambitious, complex novel, The Beautiful Daughters weaves an intricate web with one driving mystery trapped at its heart and several other secrets waiting to be unraveled. A gorgeous, dark, and winding read!” -- Andrea Lochen, author of The Repeat Year and Imaginary Things
"A meditation on friendship, betrayal and redemption, The Beautiful Daughters is the kind of story that grabs hold and doesn't let go until the final, moving page. Baart spins together multiple storylines with masterful skill, and her richly realized characters stay with you long after you've finished reading." -- Elizabeth Blackwell, author of While Beauty Slept
“Far From Here was a rare journey to a place that left me healed and renewed by the end of this beautiful, moving novel. A tribute to love in all its forms—between a man and a wife, between sisters, and among mothers and daughters—my heart ached while I read Far From Here, but it ached more when I was done and there were no more pages to turn.” -- Nicolle Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of Eighteen Acres
“Nicole Baart is a huge talent who has both a big voice and something meaningful to say with it. Far From Here is a gorgeous book about resilient people living in a broken world, finding ways to restore hope and even beauty in the pieces.” -- Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
"Far From Here, Nicole Baart's tale of the certainties of absolute fear and the uncertainty of love whirls the reader up and never lets go.” -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author, The Deep End of the Ocean, and Second Nature: A Love Story
“This gorgeously composed novel is a candid and uncompromising meditation on the marriage of a young pilot and his flight-fearing wife, their personal failings, and finding the grace to move beyond unthinkable tragedy. . . . Pulsing with passion and saturated with lush language, Baart's [Far From Here] will leave an indelible mark.” —Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
ALSO BY NICOLE BAART
The Beautiful Daughters
From the highly acclaimed author of Far From Here and Sleeping in Eden, described as “intense and absorbing from the very first page” (Heather Gudenkauf), comes a gripping new novel about two former best friends and the secrets they can’t escape.
Adrienne Vogt and Harper Penny were closer than sisters, until the day a tragedy blew their seemingly idyllic world apart. Afraid that they got away with murder and unable to accept who they had lost—and what they had done—Harper and Adri exiled themselves from small-town Blackhawk, Iowa, and from each other. Adriran thousands of miles away to Africa while Harper ventured down a more destructive path closer to home.
Now, five years later, both are convinced that nothing could ever coax them out of the worlds in which they’ve been living. But unexpected news from home soon pulls Adri and Harper back together, and the two cannot avoid facing their memories and guilt head-on. As they are pulled back into the tangle of their fractured relationships and the mystery of Piperhall, the sprawling estate where their lives first began to unravel, secrets and lies behind the tragic accident are laid bare. The former best friends are forced to come to terms with their shared past and search for the beauty in each other while mending the brokenness in themselves.
Nicole Baart’s lush and lyrical writing has been called “sparkling” (Publishers Weekly), “taut and engrossing” (Booklist), and “evocative and beautiful” (Romantic Times). The Beautiful Daughters is another exquisitely rendered, haunting story that will stay with readers long after the last page.
Praise for The Beautiful Daughters:
“Oh, the dark secrets that can be hidden in the openness of the Iowa landscape. Nicole Baart has given us such fully drawn characters and compelling relationships that only the hardest of hearts wouldn't be won over by The Beautiful Daughters.”--William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and Windigo Island
“Compelling and exquisite.... Baart has crafted an unforgettable novel filled with characters and places so rich, they spill from the pages in beautiful, slow motion passages that you’ll savor again and again. The Beautiful Daughters is one of those special novels that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.” -- Roberta Gately, author of Lipstick in Afghanistan and The Bracelet
“The Beautiful Daughters is a captivating story that showcases Nicole Baart’s strong suits. Her sense of place and characters, her understanding of relationship dynamics, and her ability to craft a compelling plot filled with emotional highs and lows all make for an engrossing, fast-paced novel that will thrill fans of women’s fiction.” -- Kellie Coates Gilbert, author of Where Rivers Part
"An ambitious, complex novel, The Beautiful Daughters weaves an intricate web with one driving mystery trapped at its heart and several other secrets waiting to be unraveled. A gorgeous, dark, and winding read!” -- Andrea Lochen, author of The Repeat Year and Imaginary Things
"A meditation on friendship, betrayal and redemption, The Beautiful Daughters is the kind of story that grabs hold and doesn't let go until the final, moving page. Baart spins together multiple storylines with masterful skill, and her richly realized characters stay with you long after you've finished reading." -- Elizabeth Blackwell, author of While Beauty Slept
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