Twenty Years Gone

From the Lonesome, Party of Six franchise from author A. Ainsworth comes Twenty Years Gone: Lonesome in the Heart of Texas, a story of restoration two decades in the making.

Brandon's downward spiral began twenty years earlier when his wife announced she was pregnant with their second child. Hardly a good father to their daughter already, he drained their checking account and ran away to Texas. His misery continues in the seedy underworld of a Dallas suburb until he finally hits rock bottom, admitting to himself what a worthless, lonely human being he has become.

A chance meeting with a guy who called himself Happy marks the beginning of a long road toward a new life. Happy's invitation for Brandon to immerse himself in a recovery ministry brings Brandon to the end of himself and the beginning of a new life with--dare he say--hope? If Happy has anything to say about it, Brandon's new life will be exceedingly, abundantly beyond his imagination.

Just when Brandon allows himself to feel he is making significant progress from two decades of disastrous decisions, a familiar voice calls his name from the parking lot of his apartment building. His ex-wife. Technically, he and Paula are still married, as neither bothered to file for divorce so many years earlier. She has come to... apologize? To him? Wait, this wasn't the way this was supposed to go. He had been building the courage to reach out across the years and the miles and beg her forgiveness for abandoning his family. But the Lord had changed her, too, through a group she called Lonesome, party of six, and she moved first.

What God has in store for Brandon and Paula could stretch their new faith beyond their imaginations. Or it could force Brandon to retreat in fear. But Brandon's boss and a not-so-random stranger urge Brandon to step out in faith with resolve, even if the results don't match his desires.

The fourth installment of the Lonesome, Party of Six series, Twenty Years Gone is a story of reconciliation, a story of hope.