Rochelle Alers 
Take the Long Way Home 

From a cloistered 1950s Mississippi town founded by freed slaves to the striking diversity of Paris and Rome in the 1960s and 70s, through Wall Street’s glittering Roaring 80s to the present day, this sweeping, unforgettably moving novel from the national bestselling author chronicles one southern Black girl’s remarkable journey through some of history’s most turbulent decades—and the four men who challenge her to fight for happiness.

 

Freedom fighter, brilliant businessperson, devoted wife, master of languages, and ultimately, savior of a European dynasty. Claudia Patterson would become all of these—spurred on by the fiercely powerful loves and losses along the way . . .

 


Denny Clark. An abused thirteen-year-old white boy whose life twelve-year-old Claudia saves—complicating her own life for years to come.

 


Robert Moore. A young Black lawyer who becomes Claudia’s beloved husband and partner on the explosive front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. Amid the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, Claudia has a shocking personal encounter—with unimaginable consequences.

 


Ashley Booth. A Wall Street executive who brings the glamour of New York alive for the now-widowed Claudia, introducing her to an elite circle of Black peers. But their long yet uncommitted romance leads Claudia to move on—to an overseas assignment at an Italian bank.

 


Giancarlo Pasquale Fortenza. An Italian automobile industrialist, once enamored of a young Claudia—handsome, worldly, and twelve years her senior. A man with whom Claudia reconnects, bringing her life full circle in the boldest, bravest, and most unexpected ways . . .

 

Rich with history and timeless emotion, here is an epic tale of rising through poverty, racism, and heartbreak—and the awesome role of our most significant relationships throughout our lives.

About the author

Rochelle Alers, the bestselling author of over eighty novels with nearly two million copies in print, has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most prolific and popular African American authors of romance and women’s fiction. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Emma Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the RT Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Iota Theta Zeta chapter and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. A full-time writer, Ms. Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island and can be found online at Rochelle Alers.org.