My review of "Long Way Out" by Nicole Waybright

I find myself struggling to write a review for "Long Way Out" that encompasses how much the book has come to mean to me. I am humbled by the author’s accomplishments both on ship and on shore.

The depths to which Nicole's character, Brenda, was willing to go to on her self-reflective journey, followed by her honesty in sharing that which she discovered about herself along the way, is admirable. I am currently listening to "Long Way Out" for the second time and am gleaning even more from it then I did the first time. The more I listen, the more comfort I find in this true story. In many ways, I feel that the author and I are much alike in our determination to traverse that oft shadowy and lonely path of self-discovery. To my own chagrin, I never have been capable of reaching the height of achievement that she has. I am so impressed by the author as a person of strength, character and integrity, and I find her courage inspiring.

This is the only audiobook I have ever purchased. I normally check them out from the library or listen to them on Google. KUDOs to author Nicole Waybright. She has much to be proud of.

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A truly inspiring story!

Hello Nicole. Yes, I finished the book a few months ago. I found it genuinely inspiring and completely believable, having been on several ships, including the USS Harry S Truman and, of course, the same one as you, the Saipan. I had never experienced the riffs that you described in your book. However, I have had many Officer friends (Supply Corps) who had experienced similar experiences that you have mentioned in your book. Having been enlisted, I managed to avoid a lot of the political shenanigans that was so prevalent in the Officer community, especially Line. I did, however, make Chief in 1996 and, after doing so, refused to play chiefly politics, which led me to retirement some nine years later, still holding the rank of Chief. Your book is so well written that I literally had the smells, bells and 1MC announcements coming back to me some fifteen years later; absolutely fantastic. I truly don’t think that someone who has never experienced shipboard life could relate to your book the same way I did. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Navy, the camaraderie, and many of the Sailors I had the pleasure of working with and for, but as I said, I was also enlisted, which is quite a bit different. I did, however, in the last year before retirement, develop depression and General Anxiety Disorder-not sure why but I went down the rabbit hole, and it was difficult to crawl back out. I’m fine now but still take SSRIs. Thank you so much for writing your book and for keeping in contact with me. I hope all is well with you and yours and that hopefully, your life is getting back to pre-Covid normal-whatever that is. Thanks again, Nicole!

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Long Way Out; an intriguing journey to find true happiness

Long Way Out is an intriguing truthful glimpse of the life of a female naval officer. You will instantly feel a connection to the main character through her journey of self discovery.
This fascinating story with attention to detail is an eye opener that allows insight to all.
I look forward to another read by this courageous author.

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Too much psychobabble BS clouds historical account

Narration kept Me engaged. If I read this in a bookstore before buying. it would have been pulped .

Ex Navy Off., I wanted to hear the accounts of this waterfront urban legend. I found the main character pathetic, doomed from the start. We all have self doubts. Feigned guilt over receiving her SWO pin fails to recognize that her purpose was to get the best from her people, encourage reenlistment, and meet requirements. Instead. she continuously focuses on the negative. Self fulfilling prophecy is painfully enforced long before the story takes on the account of the other lives impacted by the horrific leadership of the Curtis Wilbur in those years.
The Author was both out of bounds, and out of her depth by spouting about the politics of war and US politics. those sidebars were poorly informed, and completely inappropriate. She took on too much with that topic, thus damaging the credibility of the narrative.

Again, narrator kept me listening to the very painful end. Nice job. Much nostalgia revealed in some of the non painful Navy traditions.

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Long Way Out :-)

I enjoyed immensely the narration of Long Way Out, the book and substance of it was a little long and didn’t always keep my attention, Certainly got a clear understanding of this young lady’s life and her decisions that were made from not really considering her own heart. Melissa’s reading of it was excellent and I enjoyed that.

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great book and narration

I love it. The narrator was great. Did not want to stop listening when I pulled into my driveway. I have never read or listened to a book about the Navy but this book gives me a better understanding of what my Uncle and brother in law are talking about when they talk work.

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Great Narration

Narrator did a wonderful job in bring this book to life and making one feel like you are onboard the ship.

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Awesome Story and Story Teller

As a retired Naval officer, I was anxious to listen to this story of young Ensign Conner and her trials and misfortunes. Nicole Waybright is an expressive author whose detail and flow were top notch. I thoroughly enjoyed her story and felt her pain. Having served as a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) in the Navy, I quickly related to Brenda as I could clearly see the imageries conveyed by Miss Waybright. The narrator was marvelous. She drew me into the story and her ability to give each character depth and personality was incomparable. I couldn't wait to drive my commute so I could listen to her tell Nicole's story. As narrator, Melissa Kay Benson was fabulous and her pronunciations of all those Naval terms and acronyms were spot on!!! BZ (well done) as we say in the Navy!! Military experience is not required to follow this story as Miss Waybright does a superb job explaining the ins and out of shipboard life aboard a guided missile destroyer and Melissa Kay Benson makes it truly come alive. I highly recommend this book.

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Authentic voice of a young woman on a combat ship

This is the first review I have ever written which is meaningful because I am a voracious Audible listener and this is the first book which inspired me enough to overcome my inertia regarding review-writing. I was a young woman in the Navy a long time ago (even before Nicole's time) so this book had special meaning to me personally. I was completely fascinated the entire time and was shocked how quickly the time went by while listening to this book. Loved all the ship handling details as well as the drama on board. I did not want the book to end - I wanted it to keep going because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next to "Brenda" and the other characters in her story (especially since it is a true story). Thank goodness she included an epilogue so at least some of my curiosity was satiated. Besides just being downright interesting, this story brings up real issues from a different (first-hand) perspective of a very young female naval officer (one of the first women allowed on board combat ships). This book is a must-read for any woman who has ever been in the military or contemplating entering the military. The narrator was wonderful and easily transitioned to different voices and accents seamlessly, only adding to the authenticity of the story. To me, the narrator's voice became Brenda's voice. BZ!!

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4 people found this helpful

Good narrator

Subtle changes in the voice made the characters more interesting and entertaining I would recommend this to anyone

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