The Story
Sometimes the road home runs through everything you tried to forget
After a failed relationship and an unsettled teaching career, Sara Barlow returns to her childhood home in Arlington, Virginia, hoping for a fresh start. But when she applies for a job at her old high school, a chance glimpse into the gymnasium shakes her to the core--she spots the man she suspects was involved in a classmate's violent death a decade earlier. Haunted by the past, Sara confronts the memories she's spent years trying to suppress: her sister Suzanne's fatal car crash, her secret summer with the reckless Devlin Barrie, and the anonymous 911 call she made after witnessing what she believes was a murder. As the construction of Interstate 66 physically fractures her community, Sara grapples with emotional fault lines of her own--guilt, silence, and buried truth. Set against the backdrop of suburban upheaval in the 1970s and '80s, Road Longer Than Memory is a compelling story of memory, reckoning, and the cost of what we leave unsaid. Perfect for fans of Tana French and William Kent KruegerAuthor: Melanie McCabe
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 300
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.50w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781608096527
Review Citation(s):
Foreword 04/27/2026
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2026
About the Author
Melanie McCabe is the award-winning author of four poetry collections and a memoir. Road Longer Than Memory is her debut novel. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, The Georgia Review, The Massachusetts Review, Shenandoah, and other national publications. A lifelong Virginian, she taught high school English and creative writing in Arlington for over two decades.
Description
Sometimes the road home runs through everything you tried to forget
After a failed relationship and an unsettled teaching career, Sara Barlow returns to her childhood home in Arlington, Virginia, hoping for a fresh start. But when she applies for a job at her old high school, a chance glimpse into the gymnasium shakes her to the core--she spots the man she suspects was involved in a classmate's violent death a decade earlier. Haunted by the past, Sara confronts the memories she's spent years trying to suppress: her sister Suzanne's fatal car crash, her secret summer with the reckless Devlin Barrie, and the anonymous 911 call she made after witnessing what she believes was a murder. As the construction of Interstate 66 physically fractures her community, Sara grapples with emotional fault lines of her own--guilt, silence, and buried truth. Set against the backdrop of suburban upheaval in the 1970s and '80s, Road Longer Than Memory is a compelling story of memory, reckoning, and the cost of what we leave unsaid. Perfect for fans of Tana French and William Kent KruegerAuthor: Melanie McCabe
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 300
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.50w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781608096527
Review Citation(s):
Foreword 04/27/2026
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2026
About the Author
Melanie McCabe is the award-winning author of four poetry collections and a memoir. Road Longer Than Memory is her debut novel. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, The Georgia Review, The Massachusetts Review, Shenandoah, and other national publications. A lifelong Virginian, she taught high school English and creative writing in Arlington for over two decades.
