Together We Will Go Paperback – 6 July 2021

‘A road trip to the end’ - cover tag line, ‘Together We Will Go’ by J. Michael Straczynski.I have been a great admirer of Straczynski’s writing for film and television and so I was very interested in reading this novel. It is about a potentially triggering subject and JMS addresses this in a poignant dedication to absent friends and in an endnote where he writes: ‘Together We Will Go is an examination of the intense feelings that often underlie suicidal ideation and depression’. He also provides information about The Samaritans.As for the plot: Mark Antonelli, a failed young writer, is planning a cross-country road trip. He buys a beat-up old tour bus and hires Dylan, a young army vet to drive it. He then puts out a discreet ad for others to join him along the way. Yet this is going to be a road trip like no other: his passengers are all fellow disheartened souls who have decided that this will be their final journey.When they arrive in San Francisco, they plan to find a cliff with an amazing view of the ocean at sunset, hit the gas, and drive out of this world. Yet as they cross state lines, complications to the initial plan arise linked to the differing laws relating to assisted suicide in the states that they are passing through. As a result they need to keep a low profile. Not always easy to do.This novel has an ensemble cast and I was glad that I kept a brief note of their names, characteristics, and backgrounds as they were introduced as this proved very helpful as more passengers joined.It is an epistolary novel, told through the texts, emails, voicemails, and the daily journal entries that the characters write as the price of admission for this trip.I found this an extraordinary novel that continues my admiration for Straczynski. It is intelligent and thought provoking combining drama with moments of humour and contemplation about the meaning of life and death. Its characters were well realised and came alive on the page.Overall, I found ‘Together We Will Go’ an ambitious and courageous novel; though I recognise that given its subject matter it likely isn’t suitable for some readers.Highly recommended with the above caution for its subject.

I love the writing style. The characters are real and engaging. After about 45% the way in I give up on the story though. Too much misery, page after page, for me. A sad reflection of our times how high the suicide rates are i think the message is important and the author is making some good points but this very full on.I read fiction to be entertained.. Schindlers List covered a difficult topic but did it in an engaging way, this book wore me down..Five stars for the writing and approach. Topic just wore me down..

Brilliant writer & premise. Must read for everyone (suicidal or not) the characters are immediately recognisable and familiar. Just a brilliant book.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I found the characters fascinating and three-dimensional, really believable, and I read the book in three days, in between tiresome but necessary things like work and sleep. I didn't want the book to end, but it did, and before I got anywhere near tired or bored with it. Now dear reader, stop reading the reviews, just buy the book and read it!

Together We Will Go is a compelling and deeply thought-provoking contemporary epistolary novel about a group of folk who no longer wish to exist and want to shuffle off this mortal coil altogether. 29-year-old apathetic unsuccessful writer Mark Antonelli’s ream of rejection letters from prospective publishers keeps growing exponentially, and despite having had such feelings since his high school days begins to fuel even more intense feelings of suicidal ideation he decides to seek out other individuals who are also ready for departure. So he places a hidden invitation in the Personals section of HomepageAds.com reaching out to those who would like to join what he calls "the weirdest cross-country party ever". Their destination will be sunny San Francisco, CA. Upon arrival they will ditch the driver, find an apprseaside cliff with a stunning view of the pacific ocean and then just as the sun kisses the horizon, they will hit the gas and drive out of this world. As the price of admission, each member will be asked to write their story, upload it to the WiFi hotspot on the bus and periodically update it.Once they log in and create a username, they can link the system to their email and text accounts to provide an accurate real-time record of their thoughts and messages leading up to that fateful day. Rarely do people tell the truth about how they are feeling due to being afraid of what people might think of them, but since they will no longer be here when the journal entries are found and they will literally be speaking from the grave, Mark encourages everyone to finally inform everyone in their lives how they really feel, no holding back. But once the idiosyncratic group of would come together they find that their feelings about passing on are no longer as straightforward they once were. This is a compelling, engrossing and beautiful life-affirming read about the power of friendship, and despite having chose to read it because of its original plot, StraczynskI weaves a completely different story from the one I initially expected, and in a positive way. They end up hilariously been chased across States by the authorities and it becomes a rather entertaining bleak comedy. Highly recommended.