Blog Tour/Review: 3,000 Miles to Eternity by Duane & Selena Pannell

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3,000  Miles to Eternity, by Duane & Selena Pannell
2015, 272p, LDS Non-Fiction
My Rating=4.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy for an honest review



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.

I was intrigued by the summary for this book. Duane and Selena are two lonely souls (Duane is divorced and Selena is separated with the intention to get a divorce) who turn to the internet just to see what's out there. Selena was with a group of women and one of them had to sign up and she was the only one in a position to do it. [This made me laugh because one of my sisters found her husband through an internet dating service and, yes, the rest of my sisters and I were curious as to who exactly signs up for them, since they weren't around when most of us were single. We had lots of fun with it and she wound up marrying a great guy!]

It's amazing that Duane and Selena found each other in the first place. Duane had his settings to see the profiles of local women and she didn't live close by (he was in Virginia, she was in Alberta, Canada). Her profile showed up for him one night and it caught his attention. It was funny and he knew there was a story behind it so he couldn't resist reaching out to her. They struck up a friendship and it quickly grew from there.

I enjoyed reading their conversations and watching their friendship progress to possibly something more. I was a little surprised at the speed at which it happened, but the seriousness didn't just appear out of left field, either. I laughed plenty since Duane has a fantastic sense of humor and there were also parts that made me cry. He didn't hold anything back and was willing to put himself out there early on. Selena also has a great sense of humor. She held back a little more and dug deep in order to figure out what she wanted. They had some issues to work through and their first face to face meeting didn't go exactly how they had imagined it.

My one complaint is that there wasn't any kind of summary at the end. I know they got married but it would have been fun to know a little more about their courtship and how they decided where to live, etc. Maybe there will be more...

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DUANE AND SELENA PANNELL 'met' online while living in Virginia, USA and Alberta, Canada respectively. 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 googledocs they began their collaboration on 3,000 Miles To Eternity.

They have just completed a three year mission in the LDS Addiction Recovery Program, where they served as group leaders and led two 12 Step meetings a week in Vernal, Utah. Duane is putting the final touches on a manuscript addressing addiction recovery while Selena homeschools their son and teaches archery in her spare time.