Welcome to the blog tour for 3,000 Miles to Eternity by Duane & Selena Pannell!
Years before online dating became a respectable option, two broken and imperfect souls digitally crossed paths as they tried to find their way back to God. This fascinating true story, told through journals and emails, will have you smiling from start to finish and shedding a few tears along the way. Engaging and entertaining, it’s the perfect reminder of the power of love, redemption, and hope.
About the authors:
DUANE AND SELENA PANNELL “met” online while living in Virginia and Alberta, Canada. After a complicated long-distance relationship spanning four years, they married and have a son together. Their first book is borne of yet another separation in their lives when Selena was in Alberta for several months in 2013 with her dying father.
Duane was going through their old correspondence because he is a “mushy man” and thought this was a story worth telling. After some coaxing, he convinced Selena, and with a little help from Google Docs, they began their collaboration on “3,000 Miles To Eternity.”
Today they serve as missionary group leaders in the LDS (Mormon) Addiction Recovery Program where they lead two 12 Step meetings a week. Duane is putting the final touches on a manuscript addressing addiction recovery while Selena homeschools their son and teaches archery in her spare time.
Review:
As the internet began booming, there were new things being explored all the time. One of these includes online dating. Enter LDS Singles Online, a group where people were looking for love. Or not in the case of Selena. As a divorced mother of 5, Selena decides that studying the men on LDSSO would be an interesting undertaking. One day she begins talking to Duane, a man 3000 miles away. What unfolds becomes an intriguing tale of forgiveness, letting go of the past, and learning to open yourself up to new possibilities.
The story of Duane and Selena begins separately, told through their individual journal entries. Both of the have led lives that are different from many of their fellow congregation members. Duane was a drug addict and alcoholic, married to an equally self-destructive woman. As Duane hit bottom and began the long road to cleaning up his life, his wife was less interested. They eventually divorced. So Duane was left with children and a good sense of humor. Selena meanwhile married a nice man, but someone who was not LDS. This led to some conflict eventually, and she soon began to realize that the love was not there anymore. It was Selena's sense of humor that made Duane message her, while Selena found a willing partner in answering her probing questions about men in general (and LDS men in particular).
This book was fascinating! I think the circumstance of meeting online allowed Selena and Duane a certain freedom. They both intended on never seeing the other one really. Of course, like many great stories things didn't happen how they planned it. They soon found themselves looking forward to their conversations and talking to each other. They do have some ups and downs like any couple. I appreciate that they were so willing to show everything. There were so many things they they talked about that I found so interesting. This book reads like a romance novel with the satisfaction of knowing that it was in fact real. It was a super fun book to read!
Book provided for review.
