When You Went Away

by Michael Baron

Only a few months ago, Gerry had everything he thought he needed from life. He was passionately in love with his college sweetheart after nearly twenty years of marriage, he had a bright,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0981956807
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Story Plant, The
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.0" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Great start!

I'm a huge Nicholas Sparks fan and a fan of James Patterson's romance novels... loved this book! It was a great start for this author. Looking forward to reading more as they're released.

From Judith at J. Kaye's Book Blog

Gerry Rubato, the main character, is left alone to raise his infant son after his wife dies and teenage daughter has run away. For the sake of his son, Gerry tries to survive one day at a time while coming to terms with his grief. As he experiences daily struggles, he tries to understand what went wrong with his daughter. How did he lose her? Gerry meets someone from work, but he's not sure if he's ready love again. His story is so moving, so real, and so touching. The realism reminded me of Elizabeth Berg's OPEN HOUSE with an ending that brought the entire story together nicely.

When You Went Away and Came Back

Michael Baron's When You Went Away is more than a novel about grief and fatherhood; it's a novel about being lost and the journey to find the right path. Gerry Rubato has lost his whole world--first his daughter Tanya runs away with an older man at age 17 and then he loses his wife tragically. All he has left to center him is his infant son, Reese. The story is told from Gerry's point of view, and much of the beginning pages focuses on his grief and confusion about how to move on. Readers will be swept up in his grief, his struggle to find his way, and the dilemmas that face him when he begins to fall in love again. However, despite the focus on Gerry's grief, readers may not find When You Went Away to be a tearjerker. Reese becomes Gerry's world for a long two months of seclusion before he heads back to work at a catalog firm. Codie, his wife's sister, becomes a sounding board for Gerry and he for her, allowing their relationship to go beyond sister-in-law and brother-in-law to confidants. The first few weeks back to work for Gerry are rough with sympathetic looks and a number of "How are you feeling?" questions from coworkers. Eventually, he finds a friend in Ally Rittan, a fellow creative mind. Readers will embark upon a meditative journey with Gerry and Reese as Gerry works through the loss of his wife, the realization that love can find you at the most inopportune moments, and the harsh realities of repairing a relationship with his lost daughter. Some of the most insightful sections of the novel involve Gerry's journal conversations with his daughter Tanya; they are frank and raw. When You Went Away is an apt title given that the narration focuses on what Gerry feels, does, and how he reacts to the absence of his daughter and his wife, but readers may also find that this novel examines what can happen to the self when tragedy strikes and the journey it takes to locate or transform that lost self.

intriguing character study

In Port Jefferson, Long Island, Gerry Rubato believes his life is perfect. He loves his wife of two decades Maureen and adores their teenage daughter Tanya. Gerry likes working at Eleanor Miller, Inc where he is highly respected as the chief of the new products development team. His life begins to turn upside when Maureen informs him she is pregnant. Soon afterward without warning his seventeen year old daughter runs away with her boyfriend. Maureen gives birth to Reese, but one month later she dies. He is a single father raising an infant, mourning his wife's death and worried about his oldest child at a time when his deportment is critical for innovation in the Christmas catalogue, whose suspense ran out while he was burying his wife and his life. He will spin further into chaos as Gerry relooks his values. This is an intriguing character study of a person who seems to have everything perfect only to feel like a tsunami swamped his ideal life. Gerry is terrific as he tells his tale of happenings changing to woe changing potentially back to happiness if he takes chances that he is afraid of because love hurts. Although the ending is too neatly problem resolved rather suddenly, fans will enjoy following Gerry's struggles with grief for his late wife; fear for his runaway daughter; indifference towards his deadline job; and joy raising his bubbly newborn. Harriet Klausner

A must read

Gerry Rubato had everything...a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter and a brand new baby boy. That all changed in a blink of an eye. His daughter, Tanya has left home wither boyfriend, Mike and his wife, Maureen has died. Now it is just Gerry and his son, Reese. As if losing a wife and daughter wasn't hard enough; caring for a new baby is even harder. Eventually, Gerry gathers himself together enough to make his way back to work. It is there that he meets Ally Ritten. She is the newest member to work at this same place Gerry does. They go on a date. Gerry shocks himself when he finds an interest in Ally. Maureen's sister, Codie comes for a visit and to help take care of Reese. Tanya emails her father every once in a while, just to let him know she is still alive. She never provides any clues about where she is. She doesn't know about her mother dying. It is through these letters from his daughter that Gerry decides to keep a diary and write to Tanya all the things he wants to tell her but can't. When You Went Away really surprised me with how much I enjoyed reading this book. Gerry and Reese stole a place in my heart. Gerry's love for his family was heart-warming and touching in all the right places. The transformation of the story line from past to present was smooth. At first I thought Tanya was very selfless to leave home but as the story progressed and I got to know Tanya better, I realized she was still daddy's little girl but who had lost her way. Mr. Baron is a prolific writer. He is going on my must read list of authors.