The Long Journey of Jake Palmer by Jim Rubart

What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?

Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.

When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.

Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.

But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.

Coming off the success of the “Well Spring” novels, Jim Rubart has written two additional novels.  The first one, “The Five Times I Met Myself” and now most recently, “The Long Journey of Jake Palmer”.  Take your pick on which to read first as you’ll want to read them both.  But let’s talk about his newest novel, “The Long Journey of Jake Palmer”.

If you had a “do-over”, would you?  Jake’s life was on a path that anyone would have wanted.  Great job and a great wife, who could ask for more.  Then the unthinkable happened and his life changed in ways he may not be able to come to grips with.  Fast forward 18 months later and Jake is finally beginning to come back out of his shell.  A yearly trip with a group of friends,  that he avoided last year, has hit the 10 year mark and he gives in and decides to go.  A “coincidental” run-in with a seatmate on an airplane leads him to recommend a new lake for the trip.  The legend has it that there’s a corridor that will lead to a place where his deepest longings will be fulfilled.  Jake is sure that all he needs to do to get his life back on track is to find the corridor and go through it.   Is it real?  Can anyone enter the corridor? What happens when you leave?  Don’t just sit there, head down to your favorite bookstore and BUY THIS BOOK!!

Can I see myself as this character?  If I can answer yes to that question, then I think the author has done the remarkable because he’s made me believe in the character and therefore believe in the story.  What would I do if my life encountered a train wreck and then I heard of a chance to undo that which has gone wrong?  The author spends a lot of time around discussing what the label on our bottle says (what others think about us) in contrast to what we think about ourselves.  Does that label change based on who we’re around?  Can others see things in us that we don’t see?  I love a book that entertains me, but also drives me to consider a deeper perspective.  This book definitely did that!

Is this a "guy's book"?  No action, no intrigue and nothing blows up, but you won’t want to miss this book.  If you allow it, this book will push you to look harder at your “label” and decide if you’d want to do it all again if you had a chance.  For this guy, my label says all it needs to say.

About The Author

Grew up: Pacific Northwest: Seattle, Spokane, Kirkland, WA

College: University of Washington. B.A. in broadcast journalism

Work history: Started off on air at a radio station, then went into sales

Other job: Since ’94 I’ve owned an ad agency/marketing firm.

Favorite memories: They come from jumping off cliffs with my boys, water skiing together, long walks & talks with my wife, and going deep with friends.