About Us
About The Book
Coalburg, Pennsylvania, 1970. Sixteen-year-old Bella Palermo can see a giant peace sign glowing from the roof of a ramshackle hippie house—but inside her own home, peace is nowhere to be found.
Sharp-tongued, reckless, and desperate to outrun an abusive father and an absent, alcoholic mother, Bella sets out in search of the freedom promised by the music and movements of her generation. Her journey carries her through Louisville, Kentucky, juvenile detention, frozen highways, communes, anti-war circles, a rushed marriage, fierce female friendships, and a love that is as tender as it is dangerous.
Each new place offers the possibility of belonging. Each asks Bella to surrender something in return. To build a life of her own, she must learn that escape is not the same as freedom—and that love cannot save someone who is determined to disappear.
Honest, darkly funny, and alive with the soundtrack of the early 1970s, A Long Way from Anywhere is an adult historical coming-of-age novel about survival, idealism, and a young woman’s hard-won claim to herself.
CHARACTERS
Bella
The narrator and central character. Bella is searching for freedom, identity, love, and a place where she can feel that she belongs.
Annie
Bella's best friend and childhood companion. Practical, cautious, funny, and loyal, Annie often provides a counterbalance to Bella's impulsive nature. Their friendship becomes one of the important emotional anchors of Bella's early life.
Hippie Bob
One of the first people from the counterculture Bella encounters. Bob and the hippie house fascinate Bella because they represent a world completely different from the one she knows.
Bella's Father
A powerful and complicated presence in Bella's childhood. His anger and behavior contribute significantly to Bella's desire to escape the life she knows.
Alex
A significant figure in Bella's journey toward adulthood and independence. Their relationship becomes part of Bella's complicated exploration of love, commitment, and what it means to build a life of her own.
Jack
Another important relationship in Bella’s ongoing journey to adulthood. Jack carries experiences from Vietnam that profoundly affect his life and his relationship with Bella. Their story becomes one of the manuscript's most emotionally difficult chapters.
About The Author
Betsy V. Hoffman is a storyteller at heart. This book, A Long Way From Anywhere, began its life as her own personal journal entries.
As she wrote about the colorful characters that shape each chapter, she was told by friends and family that her stories should be shared, leading her on a journey of self-discovery, often finding warmth and humor even in the coldest moments.
Above all, Betsy writes to make sense of this crazy world we live in: to find light in the ordinary, insight in absurdity, and compassion for every lost sheep—including herself. Her life is a patchwork of stories, each one searching for connection, meaning, and a place to call home.
