Boston Globe journalists Scott Helman and Jenna Russell tell the full story through the eyes of five principal characters—a police officer, a lost daughter, a determined survivor, a trauma surgeon, and the marathon director—tracing the distinct paths that brought them to a tragic intersection with two murderous young brothers on one momentous day in April. Backed by The Boston Globe’s deep, relentless, and widely praised coverage of the dramatic events, Long Mile Home features an unprecedented level of detail and insight, highlighting never-before-told stories, unexpected revelations, and unforgettable moments of heroism and humanity. It’s both an absorbing, action-packed narrative and a lasting tribute to the bravery, resourcefulness, and resiliency of the Boston community—a story of the city on its worst day but also at its best.

“[A] gripping account.” (New York Daily News)

 
“A riveting piece of journalism and an exceptional tribute to a great American city that manages to avoid being sentimental or syrupy.” (USA Today)
 
“The authors succeed in communicating an authentic sense of the anxiety and claustrophobia that gripped the region and the resilience that emerged from the ordeal.” (Publishers Weekly)
 
“Succeeds in every way. It is a harrowing narrative of the events and a behind-the-scenes look at the public officials and everyday people forever changed by the attack. It is also a portrait of a major American city, its psyche and the distance runners who consider the race a sacred rite." (Washington Post)
 
“Long Mile Home — at times gripping, occasionally hopeful, always heartbreaking — is essential to understanding what happened last April, and, in some ways, the city in which those events happened.” (Boston Globe)
 
“In a remarkable work of narrative journalism, Boston Globe journalists Helman and Russell, with support from their comrades at the Globe’s news department, map out the heartbreaks, dogged pursuits and courageous acts of defiance that resulted from one of America’s most foolhardy and cowardly acts of terrorism...Journalism that demonstrates all the arguments why we need professionals to tell the stories that mark our generations and a valentine to the people that proved Boston Strong.” (Kirkus Reviews)
 
“This is a stunning, mesmerizing and fascinating book. We get to see the horror close up, its beginnings, enactment and its terrible legacies. This is a remarkable achievement of a still stupefying act.” (Providence Journal)
 
“Accounts of heroism, pride and victory in the aftermath of tragedy make this must-read surprisingly uplifting.” (Fitness Magazine)
 
“A wonderful work of narrative journalism….LONG MILE HOME is an absorbing and often painful account…the book draws one in and doesn’t let go. This telling of the Marathon bombings is the work of two seasoned journalists….This is a well-crafted book that I recommend putting at the top of your must-read list." (The Telegraph)
 
“More gripping than a mystery novel, has more deeply drawn characters than a literary novel and is enriched by the details of a history book. Long Mile Home is a surprisingly fantastic read….a must-read.”  (Associated Press)