Near the small town of Second Chance, West Virginia, in the year 1962, the world appears blissfully simple for two-year-old Laney Mae Martin. However, tragedy strikes when her father, Gil, perishes in a fatal car crash alongside another woman, whose life is also cut short. This shocking event shatters Laney Mae's idyllic existence, leaving her life in disarray. In a fit of humiliation, her mother, Faye, erases every trace of Gil, including cherished photographs, and swears never to utter his name again. Laney Mae and her older brother Neal are uprooted from their familiar surroundings, forced to face an unwelcoming reception, and endure merciless mockery in the suburbs of Washington, DC, where they are branded as "hillbillies."
The turmoil intensifies as a deranged housekeeper and later an abusive stepfather inflict lasting emotional scars upon Laney Mae. Neglected and lonely, the young girl spirals further away from reality. Seeking solace, she forges a connection with a portrait of President John F. Kennedy, brought home by her mother to honor the fallen leader. In her conversations with this revered image, Laney Mae unburdens her heart and, later on, conjures an imaginary father figure resembling the idealized depiction of a "perfect" TV dad, all while obsessing over her own deceased father. Amidst a television that incessantly blares, the bewildering outside world unfolds before her eyes-a world rife with assassinations, racial discord, and brutal scenes of war, punctuated by shows that promise canned applause and contrived happy endings.
As Laney Mae reaches adulthood, the emotional scars from her youth cast a shadow over her marriage, and she grapples with the challenges of raising a troubled son. When Faye receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, Laney Mae becomes desperate for her mother to finally reveal the hidden details about Gil. However, fate deals a cruel blow as Faye passes away before this long-awaited disclosure, taking with her the exclusive knowledge that only she possessed. Overwhelmed with grief, Laney Mae embarks on a poignant journey to bring her mother's body back to Second Chance for burial-an odyssey that leads to a fateful encounter and a momentous revelation: forgiveness, the ultimate second chance.
In the tradition of Claire Lombardo and Anna Quindlen, The Road to Second Chance is a gorgeously written page-turner about the goodness and light that can thrive inside us despite unexpected death and grief. The year is 19