Many people have already reviewed this lovely novel of a man pulling himself together for the sake of his family. Clay' is a good character and this one will tug at your emotions.

This book torn at my heart and soul. This is a book of struggles, addictions and most importantly love. I could not put it down. You will cry, laugh and believe. Music and love two things to make the world at piece. I can’t wait to read another book by this author. #netgalley #onewrongturn #deannalynnsletten

This is a story about an alcoholic man who returns to his wife and 2 daughters after his wife is in an accident and lies in a coma. He has not had a drink in 2 years but has been reluctant to return to the family due to fear of failure again. T

The is a story is of his coping without drinking if possible while trying to keep the daughters happy and visiting the wife daily. The characters were believable and I overall enjoyed the story. What I did not like was the sudden end! There is this long story about working with the daughters while the wife stays in a coma for 4 weeks then she suddenly wakes up, next page she is at home and all is well. I felt there should be a little more story after she wakes up to counterbalance. It just felt unfinished to me. I don't care for sudden health care miracles with no story to follow.

Good book. I wish there had been a little bit more couple development. At times it felt a bit rushed but the story was realistic and I was cheering for them

I received a widget for this book and clicked it not realizing it would add it to my shelf. I was not interested in reading it.

What a story. This was a very touching and emotional book. It had me from the start and I could not put it down. A car accident that almost broke a family apart pulled them together. A family who love each other even more than they know.
Clay, a recovering alcoholic, came home as soon as he got word that his wife was in the hospital after a car wreck. She was in a coma. Clay and their daughters, Maddie and Jilly, would not give up hope that she would find her way back to them. Maddie had lots of anger for her dad and with good reason. But he was determined to win back her love and faith in him. Jilly, a carefree little girl who saw the best in their dad and never gave up hope that her mom would be ok and come back home.
This book was so good. It made me laugh, get angry and boy the tears. They just flowed. Especially toward the end. I can’t say why or I would give away some good parts of this book. Just read it. Trust me, it’s wonderful. A beautiful story that touched me deep down inside. I loved it and look forward to reading more by this author.
I had to give this one a 5 star rating for sure.
I recieved a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. It was one touching story for sure.

I loved this modern family story. It's a feel good novel, with a few tears along the way. Clay and Jess are married and have two children, Maddie age 12, and Jilly age 7. Clay is a singer guitarist and an alcoholic and has been living apart from the family for two years. He has been in rehab and building his strength to live without alcohol. Jess and he speak often however she will not let him speak to the children until he is strong enough to commit to family life. Jess has a car accident and is in a coma. Clay rushes to be by her bedside and look after the children. Does he now have the strength required to look after everyone? Read on!

I thought this was a fantastic book about second chances! Clay is a good man but he has let his addiction to alcohol cause his marriage to fall apart. Driving home one day, Jess was in a hurry to pick up her daughters, Jilly and Maddie, but all it took was one wrong turn of her steering wheel as she was rushing to pick up her daughters after school to change all of their lives.

I enjoyed reading about Clay and Jess' meeting, their courtship and family life up until the time of their seperation during flashbacks told by Clay throughout the story. I felt that the addiction Clay has to Alcohol is written with truth, all of his fears exposed, along with his daily battle to remain sober, not only for his girls, but for Jess, while she is laying in a coma.

This book was an absolute emotional roller coaster. I am very much so looking forward to reading more work by Ms. Sletten in the future!

For a more optimistic view of marriage, Deanna Lynn Sletten’s new novel, “One Wrong Turn” tells the story of Jess and Clay. The book begins when Jess is rushing home and has a car accident that results in her becoming comatose.


Jess is living with their two daughters, twelve year-old Maddie and seven year-old Jilly, working to open a bed and breakfast in a home left her by her grandmother. Clay is summoned to the hospital, where he sees his comatose wife and two daughters for the first time in two years.

The story goes back and forth in time, beginning with the first meeting of Jess, a waitress in beach bar and Clay, a guitarist in a rock band. At first Jess wants nothing to do with a musician, but Clay wins her over.

They marry, and Jess becomes pregnant with Maddie. Clay’s career begins to take off, which means he is off touring with bands, in addition to becoming a highly respected and in-demand studio musician. Musicians like to drink, and Clay begins to drink too much.

Jess puts up with Clay’s drinking until she returns home one day and finds him passed out when he is supposed to be caring for their baby. Clay’s attempts at sobriety include stints at rehab facilities, and he manages to stay sober for periods of times.

Eventually Jess has had enough and she takes the girls and moves away when she inherits her grandmother’s house. They build a life for themselves, and make friends, until the accident.

Maddie is old enough to remember good and bad times with her father, but young Jilly doesn’t remember much. Clay vows to the girls that he will care for them, but Maddie fears they will be abandoned by Clay once again. In addition, there is the question of whether Jess will ever come out of her coma.

“One Wrong Turn” is the story of a marriage that tries to overcome the illness of addiction, and what happens when the unimaginable occurs. It’s beautifully written, and the characters, particularly Maddie and Clay, are ones that readers will identify and empathize with.

Sletten’s last novel, “Finding Libbie” was about love, marriage and mental illness, and she approaches her books with such sensitivity, I admit to tearing up more than once while reading her. Fans of Elin Hilderbrand's books should seek out Deanna Lee Sletten’s books.

“Since We Fell” by Dennis Lehane- A
Published by Ecco
Hardcover, $26.99, 432 pages

“One Wrong Turn” by Deanna Lynn Sletten- A-
Published by Lake Union Publishing
Trade paperback, $14.95, 204 pages

I loved this book from the minute I started reading it. It was one of those that you just didn't want to put down. I love the story line between Jesse and Clay and their two daughters were sweet in their own way. This story was very believable. It makes your realize that actions do speak louder then words and that sometimes what you thinking you are doing for the best really isn't the way it turns out. I was very happy to see in the end that everyone was happy again despite all the obstacles in the way

This is truly a great story about second chances & real struggles. The husband, Clay, is a good man, but his alcoholism causes his marriage & relationship with his children to deteriorate. When Clay's wife, Jess, ends up in a coma, it forces him to step up to the plate and find his inner strength. I loved the ending. I definitely shed a few tears during this book. A must read if you like books that tug at your heart strings.

When Jess has a car accident and is in a coma the hospital contact her estranged husband Clay even though she hasn't seen him for two years. Clay is a recovering alcoholic and after a time in rehab he still couldn't face his family and so stayed away - Jilly is now 7 and doesn't really remember him that clearly but Maddie does and she cannot forgive his absence.

Now back with his family Clay has to try and make things work for their sake as they are all he has, even though Maddie says she hates him, and while doing this and putting up with the teenage tantrums he has to stay sober........can he really turn things round and earn his place back in his family?

A good book showing what it is like for the families of alcoholics, but made more interesting by being told by Clay himself so that you can see the struggles first hand

For me, knowing you enjoyed a book is not wanting it to end... wanting a part 2 (or part 3) - when the epilogue isn't enough. That was this book. It's the story of a family that is torn apart because of addiction and how after years apart an accident brings them back together. Under the worst of circumstances, young children must learn to trust their Dad again and Dad has to learn to trust himself. It's a story of love, loss, forgiveness, starting over and overcoming any obstacles put in front of you. You find yourself rooting for this family, wanting them to have their happily ever after when all is said and done. I wasn't ready for the Jess/Clay story to end....

One day at a time....
The story on the face of it, is so simple. Jess Connors, mother to Maddie and Jilly, separated from her musician husband Clay, has an accident with brain trauma and is in coma. Clay, a recovering alcoholic, nearly two years sober, has to rush home to his family. His girls need him. And then it's a total uphill for him, staying in hope that Jess will get up, winning over his daughters, who have not seen him in two years and maintaining his sobriety in such moments of stress.
Such a story has been told before, but here, the story is told from Clay's point of view, by the author Deanna Lynn Sletten. It is a refreshing change. Every interaction that Clay has with his daughters is so poignant. His absence for two years from his daughters' life has hurt them badly and they find it difficult to trust him.
Deanna has written every dialogue between father and daughter with so much care, that each one breaks and heals the heart at the same time. Jilly accepts her dad's presence and loves easily, while Maddie distrusts him totally and stays a distance away. The contrast between the girls' reactions to their dad is beautiful yet saddening.
There is a conversation between the girls and their dad, that is one of Deanna's best in this book. When Maddie declares angrily that she hates her dad, Clay asks his younger one Jilly, why doesn't she hate him. Her answer broke my heart too
I don't remember you enough to hate you
Deanna brings home the fact that fathers are so important. Each little girl looks up to her dad, he is her first hero. Two years ago, Clay had gone to rehab and was successful in kicking his alcohol addiction yet couldn't find the courage to come back to his family. But he stands in front of his daughters explaining his less than perfect earlier ways, his mistakes and his willingness to do anything to win them all back. I liked the honesty the author brings in all her characters.
Deanna also shows romance between Clay and Jess, as Clay travels down memory lane remembering the good times and bad times, his meeting her, his first kiss, their marriage, their kids' birth, his beer habit, his rehab and Jess standing by him through all this till her ultimatum. Yet it's love that holds them together always for better or for worse even when Jess is in coma and decisions have to be made to shift her to long term facility.
Deanna brings home the fact that life sometimes is difficult and problems seem overwhelming then just taking one day at a time, taking small steps, is all we can do, both in dealing with life or in dealing with an addiction.

Sletten's novel was engrossing and riveting! She writes prose with ease and keeps her readers guessing!

I enjoyed the book. Sweet story of love and hope.

All it takes is one wrong turn to change a life. One moment perfect, the next moment shattered.

When Clay gets a call that is wife Jess has been involved in a vehicular accident, he races from Los Angeles to the Victorian home in northern California that his wife has been converting to a bed and breakfast. Due to the impact of the accident, she is currently in a coma. Things might go easier when he sees his daughters, Maddie and Jilly, except that he hasn’t talked to them in almost two years. Clay has been recovering from alcoholism and after rehab for the third time planned to make it stick because he couldn’t lose his family, but in the end, he almost did anyway. Maddie is twelve and is angry with him and scared. Jilly is seven and doesn’t remember him enough to be angry. Can the stress of this situation keep him from turning back to the bottle? What if Jess never wakes up? All because of one wrong turn.

Okay, so I was hooked after the first chapter. A few short hours later, I was done. That’s just how good this book is and how well written it is. Sletten knows how to garner an emotional response from me that makes me keep reading to find out what is going to happen. Even when one of the main characters has a debilitating problem that is destroying his or her life, you just have to keep reading. It’s painful to watch this because you can tell what is about to happen, but you just must keep going. You can’t help it as a reader. In this case, it happened twice. The back story for Clay was necessary, but just so sad to keep continuing. But Jess always had a ton of love for him. But the most difficult to watch was Maddie’s transition in present day. To realize that the story she had made up about her father wasn’t true and to finally she her walls crumble.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out. I was prepared for a broken heart as a reader at the end, but still had hope for a miracle. If you want to know what happened, you are just going to have to read it yourself!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The story reminded me of a Barbara Delinsky book. Jess is hurt badly in a car accident trying to avoid hitting a dog. Her husband has been supporting the family, but has not lived with them in two years. The two children are unsure if their father will stay this time, and he is afraid he'll not be string enough to stay sober. Overall a great story of how we all should never forget to live each day like it was our last, and that love us sometimes the strongest emotion.

I love Deanna's stories and I get lost in them as soon as I start reading the first lines. One Wrong Turn grabbed my heart from the start and I loved my roller-coaster journey through the lives of Jess and Clay and their two wonderful daughters, Maddie, the spunky teenager, and Jilly-bear, the seven-year-old, who is wise beyond her years.

This story was such an emotional read that tugged at my heartstrings. It broke my heart watching this family struggle as they tried to deal with the reality of their beloved wife and mother lying in a coma in the hospital. They all need Jessica so much and if the power of love can heal, they should be able heal their broken family. But can they find it in their hearts to forgive? And is their love going to be strong enough to pull Jess back and fix what is broken?

One Wrong Turn is an amazing love story; a story of strength, perseverance, and forgiveness that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

I was first introduced to Deanna Lynn Sletten’s work when I reviewed Maggie’s Turn in 2013, and I’ve loved her writing ever since. She creates wonderful stories with vivid settings and vibrant characters, and she always leaves you feeling like the world still holds hope – something we all really need right now.

This novel, One Wrong Turn, is no exception. A family drama, it takes place in the present on the Northern California coastline, and in the past (via flashbacks and memories) mainly in Southern California. While the scenes in the past were crucial for understanding the relationship between Clay and Jess in the present, I was more drawn to the contemporary scenes, probably because I lived in Northern California for a good chunk of my life (if I could afford it, I’d be running a B&B in Half Moon Bay right now) and was really wishing for those cool coastal breezes while I read this in hot, humid, Texas.

I really liked that Clay and Jess were depicted both as a couple and as separate individuals, and I liked the details of his being a musician. One thing that really resonated with me was an early flashback where he cuts his hair after meeting Jess and receiving her unfavorable comment about his pony-tail. My own husband (we celebrated 22 years in March) had a mullet when we met – I knew it was real love when he cut his hair short for me.

While characters who are young children don’t typically appeal to me, Sletten is so good at her craft I found Jess and Clay’s daughters, Maddie and Jilly, to be surprisingly not-annoying, the way the kids of most of my friends are. I know that sounds like an odd thing to comment on, but writing children well is a skill not every author has.

Overall, One Wrong Turn is one right choice if you like heartwarming family dramas, plausible love stories, and novels that end with hope and happiness.

Goes well with clam chowder, crusty bread, and IBC root beer.