Baron's carefully crafted debut tale, the Story Plant's first mass market original, is too true-to-life to be interesting. Gerry Rubato's wife has died and his teenage daughter has run away from home, leaving him alone to raise an infant son. Despite the recent tragedies, the focus of the novel is on rather ordinary non-events, such as Gerry's work at a catalogue company, opinions about the Yankees and tedious descriptions of food. As Gerry struggles to confront his runaway child, he chronicles his emotional reactions in a series of journal entries. A romantic subplot involving a colleague provides predictable conflict. Buried in the minutiae is an earnest tale of a man's emotional awakening and grief, but a too-easy resolution makes this more of a tour through Gerry's processing than a story.
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"Michael Baron writes with deep sensitivity of the power of love to transform and heal in the face of overwhelming tragedy. A lovely read." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs
"Nicholas Sparks fans will rejoice to hear there's a new male author on the scene who writes beautifully about love and emotionally charged relationships. Tears of sadness and joy go hand in hand in this immensely satisfying story. It's hard to believe that this is Baron's first work of fiction. Outstanding!" --Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Michael Baron writes with such depth that the emotions were tangible. It is rare that a talent like this comes along. This will be a classic. This is one to read and recommend." --BookreviewsRus
"A gem. I couldn't put it down. The characters are people I'd like to know." --Peggy Webb, author of the Southern Cousins Mystery Series
"Simply breathtaking! When You Went Away is an exquisite literary nugget not to be missed!" --The Book Resort
"Michael Baron creates an unforgettable tale....I truly loved this story. It is so well-written that it's hard to keep yourself separate from the fictional characters. I absolutely recommend this book and plan to read every other work written by this author. Triple-A reading!" --Fresh Fiction
"This is a beautifully written book about one man's journey through grief. In the process he is forced to resolve his relationships with his teenage daughter, his sense of self, and what he wants in his life. Baron's writing is lyrical and quietly powerful as he takes us through each step of Gerry's thinking and feeling. While fiction, Gerry's life experience has a strong ring of truth readers will find appealing. This is one I'll be thinking about for some time." --The Romance Readers Connection
"I loved it....It was truly a fantastic bit of writing." --Once Upon a Romance
"If you are in need of a good cry (and don't we all need one occasionally?) or in the need of a good story, pick up When You Went Away. It will touch your heart in more ways than one." --Charlotte's Web of Books
