The title, "The Journey Back," immediately grabbed my attention. Having written books myself about finding joy in life's journey, the topic really intrigued me, especially with the main character, Michelle (Shelly), falling back through time to revisit her senior year of high school. I really connected with Michelle. I'm not usually a huge time travel buff, since you basically have to suspend all disbelief to buy into everything that happens, BUT, it's still entertaining and makes you think. "Th...

After her husband's death in 2010, Michelle is left with a life riddled with regrets and unrealized ambitions. When she's suddenly thrown back to 1979, she gets the chance to guide her younger self toward making wiser choices. This is time-travel wish fulfillment at its finest. Who hasn’t fantasized about going back and nudging their clueless teenage self to do things differently, even if it's not about huge life-altering decisions like Michelle's? I found that **The Journey Back** by John A. He...

So many memories resurfacedI remember the day Mount St. Helens erupted so clearly; I was driving back to Portland with a car full of young Boy Scouts. The view was unbelievable, and reading John A. Heldt's *The Journey Back* brought that day, and a whole flood of other memories, rushing back. It was a real nostalgia trip!Thanks to the author for a fantastic story and a truly wonderful journey back in time. If you're looking for a captivating historical fiction read, I highly recommend *The Journ...

Having read John A. Heldt's *The Mine*, the first book in his Northwest Passage series, I thought I knew what to expect from *The Journey Back*. While both books share a similar starting point – the main character unexpectedly traveling to the past – that’s pretty much where the similarities end. *The Journey Back* opens with Michelle trying to rebuild her life after her husband’s death. She attends her high school reunion and, through a series of events, finds herself back in 1979, face-to-fac...

Michelle Richardson, a forty-eight-year-old from Seattle, felt like she was at a crossroads. Her husband had recently passed away in an accident, and with no children, she felt utterly lost. The next chapter of her life looked decidedly bleak. So, an invitation to her class reunion back in her old hometown of Unionville, Oregon, felt like a sign. Catching up with old school friends, people she hadn’t seen in more years than she cared to remember, gave Michelle something to look forward to. Miche...

I wish I could give this book more than five stars! John A. Heldt's *The Journey Back* is an absolutely captivating time-travel adventure that swept me away. From the very first page, I was hooked by the vivid descriptions and the compelling characters. Heldt has a true gift for bringing history to life, and I felt like I was right there alongside the protagonist, experiencing the past firsthand. The plot is intricate and full of unexpected twists and turns, keeping you guessing until the very e...

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Original Rating: 4.5/5Plot | StoryI loved the first book in this series, The Mine, so obviously I was expecting a lot from this one. *The Journey Back* met all my expectations and even managed to become one of my favorite books. Despite the high expectations, I still had a bit of a reservation before starting *The Journey Back*, wondering how one time travel book by the same author could be different from another. To my pleasa...

The Journey Back (Northwest Passage #2) by John A. Heldt It's Seattle, 2010, and Michelle Preston Richardson is recently widowed. Unsure of what she wants to do with her life, she returns to her hometown of Unionville, Oregon, to reconnect with three of her old friends. While there, she visits an old abandoned mansion, only to step outside and find herself back in 1979. With nowhere else to go, Michelle lands a job at her old high school. There, she encounters her younger self, Shelly Preston,...

BOOK SYNOPSIS Seattle, 2010. When her entrepreneur husband dies in an accident, 48-year-old Michelle Preston Richardson finds herself childless and without direction. She longs for the simpler days of her youth, before following her high school sweetheart down a road that led to limitless riches but little fulfillment. She jumps at the chance to reconnect with her past at a class reunion. But when Michelle returns to Unionville, Oregon, and joins three classmates on a spur-of-the-mome...

Imagine suddenly finding yourself hurled back into your own not-so-distant past, given the incredible opportunity to meet and interact with your younger self. Would you be tempted to influence your younger self, nudging them down a different path, knowing that doing so would undoubtedly alter not only your own future but also the lives of those closest to you? Before diving into *The Journey Back* by John A. Heldt, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I feared it might be one of those self-pu...