A Long Way Home: A Memoir

He forged his father's signature to go to war. He had no idea surviving it would be harder than dying in it.

In 1940, seventeen-year-old Clemence Goetsch slipped a piece of paper into his shoe and lied his way into World War II. What followed were six years that shattered everything he knew-and set in motion a chain of lives that continues to this day.

From the burning sands of North Africa under Rommel's assault to the frozen brutality of German POW camps, Clem Goetsch endured what few men could survive. He witnessed the death of his closest friend-a sacrifice whose impact would haunt him for decades. He survived Tobruk, Stalag IV-B, and the death marches of a crumbling Reich. And when the guns finally fell silent, he came home to discover that liberation doesn't mean freedom. The real war was just beginning-this time, in his own soul.

Gordon Goetsch spent years reconstructing his father's story from faded military records, fragile letters, and the memories of those who lived it. A Long Way Home is the result: a gripping true account of one man's odyssey through history's darkest chapter-and a testament to the grace that pursued him through it.

What you'll discover inside:

• The true story of a teenage soldier's journey from South Africa to the North African battlefield
• The fall of Tobruk and life inside Stalag IV-B-told from the inside
• The death marches of 1944-45 and the miracle of one man's survival
• A friendship so powerful it outlasted death and transformed generations
• The spiritual battle that raged long after the guns went silent
• A redemption story that ripples across families, continents, and decades

"Once I started reading A Long Way Home, it was hard to put down-a gripping confirmation of Jesus' claim that He came to seek the lost, and that He doesn't give up."

- Dr. Arnold Mol, International Speaker and Author

For readers who loved Unbroken and The Hiding Place. For anyone who has survived something and wonders what to do with the life they've been given. For anyone still finding their way home.

If the greatest battles are won in the quietest moments of a surrendered heart-buy A Long Way Home today and discover what victory looks like on the other side of everything.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Manuscripts LLC
Published: 05/31/2026
ISBN: 9798901021668
Pages: 366
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.81d