As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back

A Novel

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Pub Date 2 Mar 2023 | Archive Date 30 Mar 2023

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Description

First-place winner of two International Firebird Book Awards, Seattle writer Alle C. Hall’s literary fiction debut, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence: Carlie is not merely traveling. A child sexual abuse survivor, as a teen she steals $10,000 and runs away to Asia. There, the Lonely Planet path of hookups, heat, alcohol and drugs takes on a terrifying reality. Landing in Tokyo in the late 1980s, Carlie falls in with an international cadre of tai chi-practicing backpackers. With their help, Carlie has the chance at a journey she didn’t plan for: one to find the self-respect ripped from her as a child and the healthy sexuality she desires.

First-place winner of two International Firebird Book Awards, Seattle writer Alle C. Hall’s literary fiction debut, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story...


A Note From the Publisher

Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back won two First Place awards at the 2022 International Firebird Book Awards (Literary and Coming of Age) and Second Place in “Women’s Issues.” Excerpts from As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back won the 2022 National League of American Pen Women’s Mary Kennedy Eastham Flash Fiction Prize and placed as the first finalist in the 2020 Lascaux Prize. Hall’s short stories appear in journals including Dale Peck’s Evergreen Review, Tupelo Quarterly, New World Writing, and Litro; and her essays in Creative Nonfiction and Another Chicago. Hall lived in Asia and traveled there extensively, speaks what she calls “clunky” Japanese, and has a Tai chi practice of 35 years running.

Disclaimer: This is an advanced reader copy. Edits and changes are possible before publication.

Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back won two First Place awards at the 2022 International Firebird Book Awards (Literary and Coming of Age) and...


Advance Praise

“A rare novel that shows how easily childhood trauma can be internalized and normalized, distorting our coming-of-age. Hall takes us by the hand and walks us through a maze to a better, more hopeful place. An outstanding debut.” –Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet

“Truly original and heartbreaking without being sentimental. I’ve not seen incest written about like this before. We get a brilliant and strange view into it.” –Michael D. Collins, shortlisted for The Booker Prize for Keepers of the Truth

“As I read Alle C. Hall's remarkable novel, I kept hearing the book's title as a question: how far can you go before you have to come back? Before can be anything. Before trauma. Before love. Before letting go.” –Sue William Silverman, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, winner of The 2021 Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature

“With powerful writing that demands a reader’s attention from the start, Hall navigates the dissociative nature of trauma and the slow, staggered process of healing. A compelling, moving exploration of the often unpredictable paths we take in order to understand ourselves.” —Andrea J. Buchanan, Five-Part Invention, PEN finalist and New York Times bestselling author

"One of the strongest authorial voices I’ve heard in a very long time.” —Anna Quinn, The Night Child and Angeline


“A rare novel that shows how easily childhood trauma can be internalized and normalized, distorting our coming-of-age. Hall takes us by the hand and walks us through a maze to a better, more hopeful...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781685131470
PRICE US$6.99 (USD)
PAGES 265

Average rating from 9 members


Featured Reviews

Wow. What a powerful book this is, to witness someone taking back their own life. I struggled a bit at first with the stream-of-consciousness writing style, but then decided it was a perfect reflection of Carlie’s experience. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A raw and emotional journey through one woman's life as she navigates childhood sexual abuse trauma and a world that preys on the vulnerable. The writer's style has a stream-of-consciousness tone in some places which I typically don't like but it works very well here. This story will make you angry, it will make you cry, and it will make you think about the wounds of others that you cannot see. I received this as a NetGalley ARC.

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