Where the Road Bends
Page 20
It’s a question we’d all do well to at least ask. We might find that the path we’re on isn’t the right one, but asking that question early enough gives us time to rethink and reshape. Or we might find that the path we thought we’d be on—the path we knew was best for us—wasn’t actually the way we should have gone.
So that became the theme of the book: How did I get here? My stories always come with a theme. With The Baggage Handler, the story was about dealing with emotional baggage. With The Camera Never Lies, the theme was about the price of accepting honesty with others and ourselves.
So with the theme for this book, I’d like to pose that question to you: How did you get to where you are? Are you like Eliza, unsure of the value of your life because you’ve been at the center of it? Or perhaps like Bree—held back by fear and avoiding the opportunities that arise. Maybe Lincoln—held back by locking part of yourself away and the rest of the world out. Or even Andy, who is still running from the mess he’s created.
If you’d like to explore this further, I have some starter questions on the next page. I don’t do this to give you homework—but it will continue the thought process of not only working out how you got here but also where you might go from this place in your life. Around the bend in the road, to face whatever’s next.
Take care,
Discussion Questions
How did you get to the point you are at in life?
Is there a particular character you related to, in terms of where they were at in life?
Is there a particular character whose challenges you related to? Who, and why?
If you connected with more than one character, which parts of them spoke to you?
Each of the characters had a guide to bring them to the next phase of their life’s journey. Who around you could fill that role for you, or who would you like to play that role?
If you could stop at this juncture of your life and head in any direction at all, in which direction would you go?
What has shaped your life’s journey?
Are there events from your past—actions by other people, yourself, circumstance, or even the worst of luck—that have put you on your current trajectory?
Where is this trajectory taking you?
Like Bree, are there voices from your past that convince you that you are unable to overcome challenges? If so, how are you able to address them?
Bree was faced with fear stopping her from even attempting things outside her comfort zone. How would you address this?
Why would Bree keep a secret like the New York audition from Eliza over the years? If you were either Bree or Eliza in that situation, what would you do?
Like Lincoln, are there people in your past whose actions have driven you away from the person you are meant to be?
Lincoln covered the pain of rejection with materialism. How would you handle that if a friend was living that life?
Ultimately, Andy decided that it was easier to run than face up to the consequences of his actions. How long do you think Andy will be running for? What would it take for him to stop running?
Eliza said she had moved on, fifteen years after breaking up with Lincoln. What did you think of that—is that fair?
Lincoln was still, in his own way, clinging to the past. Should he have moved on? If so, how? If not, why not?
Whose face is in the center of your life’s compass?
What do you think the sandstorm represented? And the wind that carried away certain guides? Were there any other symbolic elements of the Australian outback that represented parts of the characters’ journeys?
Like Andy, do you entertain compulsions in your life you know are unhealthy for you?
Acknowledgments
To God: thank You for the lessons along the way that make all this possible.
To my family, as always, for believing these stories are worth telling and I am worth supporting. And I’m glad you enjoyed our outback research holiday.
To the usual suspects of my support crew: James L. Rubart, a mentor who not only leads from the front but is also behind with support; Steve Laube, an agent with integrity; my parents, for their continued enthusiasm; the Fulwood family, for having my creative back; and my family at Edwardstown Baptist, particularly those in the life group who have heard the twists and turns of a new author’s first steps. Special thanks to Deanne Hanchant-Nichols from the University of South Australia; Haydyn Bromley from the Aboriginal Lands Trust; and Allan Sumner, a gifted artist from the Aboriginal Cultural Arts Centre Aldinga, for helping continue my understanding of and deepening my respect for our First Nations people.
To the team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing: Becky Monds, my wonderful editorial director, for helping me find the story within the story, and the wonderful team members across editorial, marketing, and sales, but particularly Paul Fisher, Allison Carter, Laura Wheeler, Brittany Lassiter, Margaret Kercher, Amanda Bostic, and Halie Cotton, designer of great covers. I couldn’t do this without you, not from this side of the planet. And to Julee Schwarzburg, for her razor-sharp story observations and her contribution of translating this story into my second language of American English.
To the land of Australia. My home. A wonderful, exotic, dangerous, gorgeous land that as a backdrop for a novel is all but impossible to do justice to with the written word.
All characters in this work are fictitious. Resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental, although if you see yourself in these pages, maybe someone’s trying to tell you something.
About the Author
David Rawlings is a Christy Award-winning Australian author and a sports-mad father of three who loves humor and a clever turn of phrase. Over a twenty-five-year career he has put words on the page to put food on the table, developing from sports journalism and copywriting to corporate communication. Now in fiction, he entices readers to look deeper into life with stories that combine the everyday with a sense of the speculative, addressing the fundamental questions we all face.
www.davidrawlings.com.au
Facebook: David Rawlings – Author
Instagram: davidrawlingsauthor
Acclaim for David Rawlings
Where the Road Bends
“What happens when the past collides with the future? In Where the Road Bends Australian novelist David Rawlings opens the window of the soul and draws the reader into the lives of characters thrust into the hostile, unknown world of the Australian Outback. The way home follows paths unexpected with encounters unforeseen. Begin the journey. And hold on.”
—Robert Whitlow, bestselling author
“Where the Road Bends takes the reader on a familiar journey of past mistakes and future choices. The characters were relatable but flawed with a hope at the end that will inspire anyone who reads this fantastical story. Definitely recommend!”
—Morgan L. Busse, award-winning author of The Ravenwood Saga
“David Rawlings asks good questions. And as you lose yourself in Australia with these characters, you may begin to ask the same questions of your own heart. A writer could hope for nothing better.”
—Chris Fabry, award-winning author and radio host
“Where the Road Bends is a very well-told story of intertwined lives, and how we learn and grow through caring for others. Engaging and thought-provoking.”
—Davis Bunn, international bestselling author
“In Where the Road Bends, David Rawlings has created a mind bender of a story. What exactly happens when four friends get together fifteen years after graduation? Each has something they’re running from . . . or is it to? It’s in those questions that this book grabs ahold of readers and won’t let go. With a feel similar to James Rubart, this book will delight readers who want to think while they read and don’t mind a book that twists and turns with a bend or two along the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and think you will too!”
—Cara Putman, bestselling and award-winning author
The C
amera Never Lies
“In his intriguing novel, The Camera Never Lies, David Rawlings challenges us to wonder what our photographs would look like if our souls, not our faces, were captured by the lens. This fascinating story will capture your imagination and your heart.”
—Rachel Hauck, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress and The Memory House
“The camera never lies, and neither does this gripping story about unearthing our deepest secrets in the most fantastical of ways. A message relatable to us all, bottled in an adventure we all love to read. Highly recommend!”
—Melissa Ferguson, author of The Dating Charade
“A thought-provoking look at the real price that secrets extract—not just from the person keeping them, but from their loved ones too. You’ll close this story and be compelled to examine your own life . . . and also look at those around you and wonder, ‘Who else looks like they have it all together but is drowning on the inside?’”
—Jessica Kate, author of Love and Other Mistakes
The Baggage Handler
“The Baggage Handler by David Rawlings is an extraordinary novel that lingered in my heart long after I finished it. Rawlings’s fabulous writing highlighted the unusual premise that had me thinking about my own baggage. I want everyone I know to read this!”
—Colleen Coble, USA TODAY bestselling author of The House at Saltwater Point and the Lavender Tide series
“Throughout the day I found myself itching to get back to this story. You will too. The Baggage Handler is a tale that will resonate deeply with those who have held on too tightly, for too long, to the things that hold them captive. That’s me. That’s you. Pick it up and prepare to have your world turned upside down, then turned right side up.”
—James L. Rubart, bestselling author of The Man He Never Was
Also by David Rawlings
The Camera Never Lies
The Baggage Handler
Copyright
© 2020 David Rawlings
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Song lyrics quoted in chapter 22 are from “Beds Are Burning” by Midnight Oil; written by Robert Hirst, Peter Garrett, Peter Gifford, James Moginie, and Martin Rotsey in 1987. Published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing.
Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rawlings, David, 1971- author.
Title: Where the road bends : a novel / David Rawlings.
Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, [2020] | Summary:
"Fifteen years after their college graduation, four friends reunite,
each with their carefully constructed facade. But when they are
mystically separated in a sandstorm, they must face what really brought
them to this point"-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019054936 (print) | LCCN 2019054937 (ebook) | ISBN
9780785230724 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780785230731 (epub) | ISBN
9780785230748 (audio download)
Classification: LCC PR9619.4.R385 W48 2020 (print) | LCC PR9619.4.R385
(ebook) | DDC 823/.92--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054936
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054937
Printed in the United States of America
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