A Time to Wander

By: Chera Thompson, NF Johnson

Narrated by: Uma Incrocci, Christain Pedersen

Two college kids on two different roads. Save for the one they share. An email exchange between former college lovers takes them back to their college years at Kent State, the 1970s. The Vietnam War is raging. Anti-war rallies hit the breaking point. It was a time of bell bottoms, vinyl, incense, free love, and travel by thumb.

For Kris and Lena, two strangers on two very different paths, a thrown beer bottle shatters the lives they have known, bringing them together by chance. Lena is attracted to Kris and his live-in-the-moment personality. When he invites her to join him on a winter break hitchhiking trip, she kicks aside her uptight attitude and accepts the adventure. The trip is harrowing at times, comical during others, and poignant as Lena and Kris learn about themselves and each other. The events that shape and seal the fate of their relationship in unpredictable ways are revealed in the authors’ female/male alternating perspectives. Inspired by true events, A Time to Wander is a magical tale of freedom before the future takes hold.

©2009 Neal Frederick Johnson and Cheryl A. Thompson (P)2020 Neal Frederick Johnson and Cheryl A. Thompson

The Great Midwest Road Trip Novel

A novel that transports you somewhere you've never been is good. A novel that makes you feel the narrator's excitement and nerves, their trepidation and fear, is great. A novel that can pull someone from a different generation and a different part of the world into the story is exceptional. This novel did all three, and it left me wanting more.

It also served as a redemption for another Midwest road trip story by a beloved author, which I won't name here, but is now being turned into a TV series. That book left me disappointed and deflated. Chera Thompson and N.F. Johnson brought unexpected magic back to the genre.

The narration was fantastic. It brought the characters to life and was easy to listen to. I laughed out loud.

I'll be thinking back on Chera Thompson and N.F. Johnson's prose for years to come. I can't wait for their next book!

Beautifully read!

One of the best readings ever. Uma Incrocci and Christian Pedersen brought the characters to life.