The Forgotten Road (The Broken Road Series)

The first book was a page turner but this one reminded me of the Walk Series. I liked the Walk Series and thought I was through it until I read this one. It was a daily log of his walk on Route 66 - so boring and then a few interesting discussions here & there. I found myself skipping several pages so that I could get through it and see if he reaches his final destination. Another disappointment that there is no ending. I won't read the next one in this series.

Quite frankly I got fed up with the all the food he ate..Which of course was always detailed...Plus the endless narrative of route 66....This book is similar to the 4th book he wrote for the Walking series...Just as boring....Sorry I bought this book...Hoping the next one in the series will be worth the wait...

I have truly enjoyed this author for years & especially his walk novels. My disappointment with this one was because there was not enough interaction with people along route. He gives great descriptions of the road, the scenery, & unusual icons along the way, but in previous writings, he told more about people that you would encounter traveling. ? I really hope the next book in this series will be up to his usual excellent writing

Quite frankly I got fed up with the all the food he ate..Which of course was always detailed...Plus the endless narrative of route 66....This book is similar to the 4th book he wrote for the Walking series...Just as boring....Sorry I bought this book...Hoping the next one in the series will be worth the wait...

I have truly enjoyed this author for years & especially his walk novels. My disappointment with this one was because there was not enough interaction with people along route. He gives great descriptions of the road, the scenery, & unusual icons along the way, but in previous writings, he told more about people that you would encounter traveling. ? I really hope the next book in this series will be up to his usual excellent writing

I was so excited to read the 2nd book because I loved the first one! I was disappointed that the majority of the book was a description of the land marks of route 66! I wanted the story to be more about Charles James and how he was going to begin a new direction in his life by walking route 66. The ending was probably the best part of the book! Im hopeful the 3rd book will be better.

This book is about a journey that a man chooses to take after the traumatic experience of avoiding death by a few seconds when the plane he was supposed to ride on, but didn't quite make it after running back out to grab something he left behind, crashes with no survivors.

Charles was a self made millionaire, who became wealthy by charging people to come to his seminars ($10,000 a pop) on how to be wealthy, which he admits in the book, is mostly just a scam. When he reads his own obituary in the newspaper, he decided that he will keep his survival a secret, and will take a pilgrimage by walking route 66 from Chicago to California, as a form of redemption, and hoping to win back the heart of his ex-wife Monica, who he had never been grateful for, and cheated on.

I found that the protagonist is a generally unlikeable person, who spends more time visiting tourist attractions and describing in detail every meal he had on the road than on any actual self discovery. At one point, about halfway to California, a biker gang steals all his valuables, including the cash he had been using to finance his trip, and the cell phone where he had all his account information stored, so he is forced to work to try to earn some money back in order to be able to continue his journey.

There are three specific encounters that help Charles see life from a different perspective. There is the woman who saves him from walking through the bad neighborhood where there had been a murder recently. There is the doctor who tells him about his near-death experience and meeting God. And there is the migrant worker he befriends while taking a week to perform the back breaking labor that earned his some extra cash.

By the end of the book, we see that there is already a change in Charles, in that he is learning not to take things for granted, and to appreciate what he has. However, considering these revelations are shown while he is staying at a five star resort, eating fancy dinners, and going for massages at the spa, all using money that he earned by scamming people, sort of make all of it ring hollow.

His assistant, Amanda, is the only one that he eventually reveals himself to, but he immediately tells her to quit her job, loan him $2000, and do all sorts of favors for him.

The one positive thing the book has is that every once in awhile, you do have some words of wisdom that are worth considering or writing down. However, I had little sympathy with Charles when I began reading about his journey, and even less so by the time I turned the last page. When he says in the epilogue about his ex wife, whom he decided he is going to continue his journey for despite having learned that she is remarrying, "She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be loved. She deserved better that I had given her. She deserved to be someone's pearl. I wanted her to know that." I couldn't help but thinking, "yeah, she already figured that out. That is why she moved on and found someone who would treat her right."

“Historically, the beginning of Route 66 has changed multiple times, but the currently accepted start is beneath a heavily decaled Route 66 sign on Adams Street, just a half block west of the Art Institute of Chicago. I touched the sign pole, then started my walk.”

The airplane that Charles James was supposed to have taken crashed moments after takeoff, killing everyone on board. By some miracle, he missed his flight. Now he has a chance to reexamine his life. While he’s been exceptionally successful, he’s been more and more unhappy lately. Where once his wealth and rise to the top was what drove him, those things have lost their luster. So now that the world thinks he’s dead, a host of new options opens up for him. Should he go back to doing what he was doing or try something radically different?

Charles has dreamed about walking Route 66 --- literally dreamed about it. Maybe, he thinks, he should make that dream come true. In fact, when he seriously considers it, he realizes how prophetic it is. He lives in Chicago, one end of 66. The only woman he ever loved, his ex-wife, lives at the other end, in Santa Monica. He’d like a second chance with her. What, really, has he got to lose? After all, he’s been given one second chance already. Perhaps it’s his destiny. So he touches that sign pole and starts walking.

"I loved this book. Charles James began as just one more mega millionaire who looked down on the little man. But by the end, he’d grown into someone I wouldn’t mind meeting."

Charles never believed it would be easy. And it isn’t. In fact, it turns out to be a lot tougher than he had dreamed, but maybe he earned this sort of penance for the way he’s lived. As Charles walks, he meets people, naturally, but these are real people, everyday people, people who work hard for what they earn. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, they care enough about a man walking the Route to give him what little they have when he hits a rough spot. Not everyone, mind you. There are bad people out there, too.

But Charles experiences life from a whole new angle. Actually, every day brings a whole new angle, and a whole new set of experiences. The lessons he’s learning on this trek are invaluable. Some days, he goes along like a tourist, enjoying all of the kitschy Americana the old highway has preserved. Others, well, the others are the days when he meets the true characters, the genuinely good folk, and the ones who simply do what feels right without thinking of consequences.

Charles has shamelessly taken advantage of people for most of his career. He trampled all over people, even the guy who gave him his big break, so he trusts one, maybe two people. On the road, he must learn to understand the motives of people who offer him a hand. Could those motives be as simple as helping a fellow human in his time of need?

THE FORGOTTEN ROAD is truly transformational --- not only for Charles, but for anyone who reads it. You follow the change in the man. You see it reflected at the beginning of each chapter, where a quote from his walking diary is featured. And he writes some pretty insightful comments in that diary. It will give anyone hope that, with determination and strength --- and, yes, trust --- change is within reach.

I loved this book. Charles James began as just one more mega millionaire who looked down on the little man. But by the end, he’d grown into someone I wouldn’t mind meeting. His metamorphosis from the first page to the last is remarkable. THE FORGOTTEN ROAD is the second in Richard Paul Evans’ trilogy that began with THE BROKEN ROAD. Now it looks like readers will have to wait until spring of 2019 for THE ROAD HOME. Let’s hope time flies. I’m ready now.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers

The Forgotten Road is the second installment in Richard Paul Evans' trilogy titled Broken Road. This continuation follows fictional character: Charles James as he finds purpose while using his presumed death to navigate a new life. It follows him as he starts his journey on foot from Chicago to California via Route 66. My personal reading experience had me viewing this book as Undercover Boss meets a Route 66 travel guide manual. Charles' character is very descriptive about his journey on Route 66: Landmarks are noted, its history is explored, and interesting tidbits are shared. At the same time, Charles is meeting tons of side characters along the way, hearing about their lives, goals, and struggles, working along side them, giving financial gifts or making a mental note of how he would like to help them with his money and resources once he has ended his journey.

Overall, an unexpected but entertaining continuation of Charles' story, a story which I very much look forward to continuing.

Using the backdrop of historic Route 66, Richard Paul Evans makes you think about the road to your own legacy. Imagine showing up at your own funeral and being surprised to find the number of attendees in the single digits. That's what nationally known motivational speaker Charles James finds after "surviving" a plane crash in his hometown of Chicago. As he makes plans to show up at his own funeral and surprise everyone with the good news that he had not actually boarded the fateful plane, he is shocked to find that the only people in attendance were his personal assistant and a close friend that he had recently betrayed. As a result, he decides to embark, by foot, on a journey of self-discovery in hopes of taking advantage of a second chance to build a more purposeful life.

This is the 2nd book in the "Broken Road" series, and although it stands alone, don't miss the first book, which is equally compelling. I couldn't put it down and read through it in less than 24 hours after starting it.

Evans has gone to the well too many times in his walk series. This one comes up dry, falling flat on the first step. Charles James, rich seminar presenter, has presumably died when his plane crashed on takeoff. James had rushed off the plane to get a forgotten laptop, but he is still on the manifest. Charles decides his life has been rather phony and takes his new-found anonymity as an opportunity to walk Route 66 to see his ex-wife who remains the love of his life. I’ve enjoyed Evans’ books in the past, but this novel comes across as forced, with one contrived episode after another

This is definitely a second book of a planned trilogy. (The Broken Road is number one - refer to my review on that). This is the continuing story of Charles James. (Book one focuses on the characters initial background and the events leading up to a life-changing experience). This book picks up exactly where book 1 ends. The events in book one cause Charles to begin to examine his life and provide an opportunity to drop everything and start again. This examination of his life starts him on a trek across America via the historic Route 66 on foot. On his journey (literally and figuratively) he begins to change because of the experience, the things he sees, and the people he meets. There is some some background information of what has happened in book one but I recommended reading each book. As this is designed as a seond of a planned trilogy, do not expect a story end. There is a satisfactory end in terms of wrapping up a particular phase of the character's journey and realizations he making in his evaluation of his life but it does not conclude the entire story projected for the series. The author has clearly researched Route 66 and its towns/landmarks as I am familiar with a portion of this historic highway in Illinois. I found this book to easily engage me and an easy read.

This second book in the series was just a wonderful as the first! I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. And the story just pulled you in an kept you turning page after page. The author does a great job of making you feel sympathy for someone who was not such a nice person before his life changed in a dramatic way.

As you continue on the road with Charles James, you find yourself wanting to jump in the car and drive along Route 66, stopping in at the various locations along this stretch of historic highway, eat at the various eateries, meet some of the amazing people.

While life is not perfect and Charles has a lot to learn as he walks along this road, the lessons are everlasting and definitely ones we could learn from ourselves. Can't wait for the 3rd book in this series. I'm waiting anxiously for the next installment!

Loved the continuation of this trilogy. He is now on a walk from Chicago to California on Route 66. He is a man raised in an abusive environment, grew up to be a millionaire, made tons of mistakes in his life, especially personal life, and found that all that money wasn't making him happy. Be sure to read Book #1 first. This is Book #2 and there will be a #3 in Spring, 2019. I couldn't put it down. Fun to learn about Route 66 and it's many quirks and characteristics. I read them backwards...and it was still a riveting story! (Loosely based on a real man!). Great fluid, smooth writing.

The Forgotten Road is a real page-turner as Charles James sets out on foot to walk the historic Route 66 in its entirety. He is presumed dead after a plane crash, but he had not boarded the flight. He decides that this is the perfect opportunity to walk away from his stress-filled life. He meets many interesting people along the way as he plans to end up at his former wife's doorstep in California. Yet, at the end of the novel, he has only made it, halfway after his cash is stolen. How will it all end? Guess we have to wait and see in the next book of the trilogy!

I loved this like I love ALL of Richard Paul Evans' books! I was dismayed to find myself at the end - I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading! Richard really knows how to tell a story and all of his books are clean. Thank goodness there's a third book in this series coming out in the Spring. I can hardly wait!!! One specific thing that I want to mention is that his books are not predictable. You can't skip anything or you'll miss something important!! Please keep writing, Richard!

I have read all of "The Walk" series (5) as well as the prequel to this book - The Broken Road. I would have to say that this was the biggest disappointment because for me it lacked the depth and/or intensity that the main character possessed in the author's previous books. This story centered more on the geography found on his walk than it did on characters - his own or others. I will not be anxious to read any more in this series.

You can read The Forgotten Road for the story of a man finding his way from self-centered grasping to empathy, or you can skim over the plot and read it for a vicarious walk along Route 66, or, as I did, read it twice, concentrating once the story and once on the travel.
I enjoyed the story.
Then I checked the facts of Route 66. Searches showed me photos of places exactly as described and turned up more details on historical references like the Reverend Christian Christiansen whose remembrance of his boyhood home in Norway might have kept Hitler from getting the atomic bomb.
I'm waiting for the final book of the series partly for the conclusion of Charles James' pilgrimage, and partly to find out if he walks along the part of Route 66 closest to us.

I always look forward to Richard Paul Evans' books. This one is the second in his latest series and it won't make sense unless you've read "The Broken Road." Basically, the theme is a man walking to rediscover himself. The book serves as a travelogue to Route 66 but was very interesting. I'm looking forward to the third book in the series!

I love this series but hate that I have to wait till next year for the next book! One of the things I like best about this series and the author's The Walk series is all the places he mentions that the characters visit around the country. If I had a bucket list, traveling Route 66 would be on it, though not by walking! Lol

I should have remembered having read the Walk series that Mr. Evans gets lost in his travelogues. The first 3/4 of the book was all about the restaurants he ate in and the historical sites along Route 66. It finally started to get interesting near the end and then it just ended with him still in Texas. I hope someone will advise me when he writes the last in the series as I would really like to find out what happens to Charles James aka Charles Gonzales when he finally reaches Santa Monica. However, I don't think I can tolerate another travelogue.. P.S. This review is written by Frank's wife

Great book, just ended too soon. Hate to wait another year for part three. Interesting to hear about the different places along Route 66. I have been on pieces of this road and seen some neat places and this story makes me want to travel more of it.

Okay, two stars really how can that be? it is a RPE book should be a RIP book. I read all of his work this sounds like what was taken out of the waste basket from The Walk, down to the strawberry pop tarts. Save your time and money and move along nothing to see here.

This wasn’t a book for me. This book was more like a journal of someone walking Route 66 and writing about that experience with reviews of bed and breakfasts, museums, and food. I wanted to read more about the story of Charles James and what happened next.

This was the first book I was not crazy about. I thought the story line was good, as to why the man was walking back to California, but I really didn't care to know all about Route 66 and all the small towns in between. It ended not knowing the "rest of the story" - now another book to be continued. It was well written, but I did not enjoy how it dragged-out.

You can read The Forgotten Road for the story of a man finding his way from self-centered grasping to empathy, or you can skim over the plot and read it for a vicarious walk along Route 66, or, as I did, read it twice, concentrating once the story and once on the travel.
I enjoyed the story.
Then I checked the facts of Route 66. Searches showed me photos of places exactly as described and turned up more details on historical references like the Reverend Christian Christiansen whose remembrance of his boyhood home in Norway might have kept Hitler from getting the atomic bomb.
I'm waiting for the final book of the series partly for the conclusion of Charles James' pilgrimage, and partly to find out if he walks along the part of Route 66 closest to us.