Long Gone, Come Home - by Monica Chenault-Kilgore (Paperback)

About the Book

Birdie Jennings dreams of a big life beyond her small town of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, beyond her mundane job tying tobacco leaves at Wrights Factory, beyond her position as the baby of the family. Her life changes when she meets Jimmy Walker, a smooth talker and dreamer. Jimmy makes big promises of a magical life filled with poetry, passion, and music, and Birdie is quickly swept off her feet. But some short years after they marry, Jimmy leaves for work and never returns, and Birdie is left behind with two toddlers and no explanation for her husband's latest disappearance. With no support system, Birdie moves back home with her overbearing mother. Just as she's settling into her new life, Birdie witnesses a gruesome murder and flees Mt. Sterling to avoid questioning. For the first time, Birdie is truly on her own. She travels to the big cities of Cincinnati and Chicago just as she dreamed, but with a new goal: find Jimmy and bring him home. Along the way, Birdie explores the bustling jazz scenes in the hottest nightclubs and backwoods juke joints. Finding her place among criminals and saints is tough, but Birdie is tougher, and she soon wonders if an independent life on her own terms is the better way forward.

Book Synopsis

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Spanning from the joyous peak of the 1930s jazz era to the Great Depression and civil rights movement, Long Gone, Come Home weaves a poetic tale of love, life, and loss as one woman learns the true meaning of home.

Birdie Jennings dreams of a big life beyond her small town of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky--beyond her mundane job tying tobacco leaves at Wrights Factory, beyond her position as the baby of the family. Her life changes when she meets smooth-talking Jimmy Walker. Jimmy makes big promises for an exciting life together, and Birdie is quickly swept off her feet. But some short years after they marry, Jimmy disappears without a trace, leaving Birdie hurt and alone with their two toddlers. Out of money and out of options, Birdie moves back home with her overbearing mother.

Just as she's settling into her new life, Birdie witnesses a gruesome murder and is urged to flee Mt. Sterling to avoid questioning. With nothing but a borrowed suitcase and a questionable note about a house in Cincinnati promised to Jimmy, she travels to the big city just as she and Jimmy dreamed, determined to put her life back together. Plunged into the bustling jazz scenes of the hottest nightclubs and backwoods juke joints, Birdie learns that finding her place among criminals and saints is tough--but she is tougher. Even when some harsh lessons threaten the life she's created on her own terms...

Review Quotes

"Monica Chenault-Kilgore's Long Gone, Come Home is a big-hearted story of perseverance, family, and ambition set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the racial intolerances of the early 20th century. In Birdie, Chenault-Kilgore has created an unforgettable heroine whose resilience and determination will resonate long after you finish reading." --Bryn Turnbull, international bestselling author of The Last Grand Duchess

"Long Gone, Come Home is a heart-filled tale about a young woman willing to sacrifice it all for love and family. Set against the background of the Great Depression and Jim Crow, Chenault-Kilgore's debut tugs every emotion as Birdie fights to make a way out of no way." --Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms

"Long Gone, Come Home is a poignant and powerful debut novel set against the backdrop of the 1930s jazz era, Great Depression, and civil rights movement. Monica Chenault-Kilgore has penned a sweeping, poetic story of love and family told through the eyes of a courageous and unforgettable heroine." --Chanel Cleeton, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Our Last Days in Barcelona

"An extraordinary tale of resilience and determination, Monica Chenault-Kilgore's Long Gone, Come Home takes us on a journey of the 1930s jazz era and civil rights movement through the eyes of a tenacious and unforgettable heroine. Birdie's enduring story is one of love, loss, family and survival. Despite the unexpected twists her life path took, when tragedy and fear could have prevailed, Birdie never forgot her dream, nor did she stop fighting for it. I was blown away by this powerful, heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful debut!" --Eliza Knight, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Mayfair Bookshop

"Monica Chenault-Kilgore's heartfelt debut, Long Gone, Come Home, vividly captures its setting and era through the trials and triumphs of a heroine readers will root for. Nuanced and atmospheric, this is a story of people pursuing big dreams amid great injustice, and ultimately realizing the value of family and the enduring power of love." --Kristin Beck, author of The Winter Orphans

"A remarkable story wonderfully told, Long Gone, Come Home, by Monica Chenault-Kilgore, is a historical novel with a wealth of captivating characters in a story about relationships, identity, struggles, and the heartbreak and joys of a Black woman and her family, over a decade, beginning in 1936 Kentucky. Chenault-Kilgore's main character Birdie is unforgettable--from page one, this complicated young woman grabs hold and doesn't let go until the last sentence." --Denny S. Bryce, Bestselling Author of Wild Women and the Blues

"Long Gone, Come Home is part adventure, romance, historical fiction, mystery, and coming of age, which Kilgore deftly develops into a tense, emotional, and inspiring read.... a masterpiece of literary fiction." --The Gloss, 5-star review

"It's one of those books you don't want to put down." --Red Carpet Crash

"[A] compelling debut... [a] powerful story of love, jazz, courage and home." --Ms. Magazine

"An effective and emotional novel, populated with big characters and vibrant settings... Chenault-Kilgore gives us a sweep of Black experiences in a thoughtful and vivid narrative." --Historical Novel Society