The Road Home

by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen

Genre: Inspirational

Review by guest “ranter” Donna Catron, MPL Librarian

Imagine taking a road trip cross-country with your mother-in-law in a broken-down car with little money. That’s the premise of the new inspirational book The Road Home by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen.

If you’ve been to many weddings, chances are you have at least a passing acquaintance with the story of Ruth, whose dedication and loyalty to her mother-in-law lead her on the path to becoming the great-grandmother of the legendary King David.

The Road Home turns this story on its ear by imaging Ruth as  cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, sister-in-law Orpah as an exotic dancer, and their mother-in-law Naomi as the run-down widow of a hotel clerk. When Ruth’s and Orpah’s husbands die tragic deaths caused by substance abuse, Naomi decides to go back to her Mennonite roots in Pennsylvania (near Bethlehem, of course). When Ruth insists on accompanying Naomi on this journey in their geriatric car, she encounters both danger and hardship, with many breakdowns and a memorable run-in with a motorcycle gang.

What makes the novel so good is that throughout all of these very modern scenarios, the book stays true to the basic message of love and loyalty found in the ancient Book of Ruth. There’s also little inside jokes sprinkled in, such as the story of how Orpah got her name. So, if you’re looking for some “inspiration” in your fiction, try this or any of the other great new books in this genre.