The Long Road Home — Danielle Steel

At seven, Gabriella Harrison believes, as she is told, that she is to blame for her mother's rage -- and her father's failure to protect her. Her world is a confusing blend of terror, betrayal, and pain, where there is no safeguard and no safe haven to run to. Her only escape is through the stories she writes. But Gabriella is given her first reprieve when her mother abandons her to a convent. There, amid the quiet safety and hushed rituals of the nuns, Gabriella grows into womanhood. Then a young priest comes into her life.

Father Joe Connors never questioned his vocation until Gabriella entered the confessional. Confession leads to friendship. And friendship grows dangerously into love. Like Gabriella, Joe is haunted by his childhood. With her, he takes the first steps toward healing. But their relationship puts challenges before them that can only lead to disaster.

Exiled and disgraced, Gabriella struggles to survive on her own in New York. She seeks healing and escape through her writing, but is again betrayed by someone she trusts. Brought to the edge of despair, she manages to find hope. On a pilgrimage destined to bring her face-to-face with those who sought to destroy her, she finds forgiveness, freedom from guilt, and healing from abuse.

With profound insight, Danielle Steel has created a vivid portrait of an abused child's broken world, and the courage necessary to face it and free herself from the past. A work of daring and compassion, it exposes the terror of child abuse, and opens the doors on a subject that affects us all. The Long Road Home is a work of hope and courage.