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Ten Miles One Way
The powerful story of a mind at the edge of unraveling, held together by love and acceptance.
Nest and Q walk through the city. Nest speaks and Q listens. Mile by mile, Nest tells Q about her life, her family, her past . . . and her Chimaera, the beast that preys on her mind and causes her to lose herself. Q knows only that his love for Nest runs deeper than the demon that plagues her thoughts, that he loves her in spite of—or perhaps because of—the personal battle she fights every day.
A beautifully-written, haunting story.
Nest and Q walk through the city. Nest speaks and Q listens. Mile by mile, Nest tells Q about her life, her family, her past . . . and her Chimaera, the beast that preys on her mind and causes her to lose herself. Q knows only that his love for Nest runs deeper than the demon that plagues her thoughts, that he loves her in spite of—or perhaps because of—the personal battle she fights every day.
A beautifully-written, haunting story.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2017
18 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Downes
21 books25 followersJessica Kensky and Patrick Downes are a married couple who were both injured during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Jessica’s service dog, Rescue, joined their family in 2014. Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 10, 2019
i was not expecting how much i loved this, wow. the style of writing is brilliant and the face that the plot was so different? like it’s hard to explain, but the best way to put it is a sort of crossover between poetry and novel but there’s only like four poems? you’d have to read it yourself to understand. i fell in love with both q and nest <3
April 8, 2017
IDK. I just really like Patrick Downes' writing.
May 8, 2017
Nest’s mind bubbles and steams and swirls. primordial soup, and all sorts of creatures walk up out of her brain on their fins, which become feet. listening to Nest is only as tiring as pretending to witness the start of the world.
T H O U G H T S:
bizarre, bold, and powerful. ten miles one way is the unexpected, stream-of-consciousness narrative of a mind at the edge of unraveling, of beasts and beauty, of madness and messes. the internal conflict, tension, and struggle rips its way through the words in an authentic, heartbreaking way. take your time with this book, with each mile, and it will change you.
"i’ve been writing almost five days straight to no one in particular. to the you we all have inside of us, not ourselves but no one else either. not quite a god or a devil; not quite a friend; not quite a hero. no one in particular, but someone just the same."
R A T I N G:
plot // 3
pacing // 3
language // 4
story world // 3
protagonist // 4
antagonist // 3
secondary characters // 3
3.5 stars
"how do we make anything perfect? do we have to add and add to it until we can’t anymore? or do we get closer to perfection when we take away all we can, strip a thing down to its bare essentials, its simplest lines?"
T H O U G H T S:
bizarre, bold, and powerful. ten miles one way is the unexpected, stream-of-consciousness narrative of a mind at the edge of unraveling, of beasts and beauty, of madness and messes. the internal conflict, tension, and struggle rips its way through the words in an authentic, heartbreaking way. take your time with this book, with each mile, and it will change you.
"i’ve been writing almost five days straight to no one in particular. to the you we all have inside of us, not ourselves but no one else either. not quite a god or a devil; not quite a friend; not quite a hero. no one in particular, but someone just the same."
R A T I N G:
plot // 3
pacing // 3
language // 4
story world // 3
protagonist // 4
antagonist // 3
secondary characters // 3
3.5 stars
"how do we make anything perfect? do we have to add and add to it until we can’t anymore? or do we get closer to perfection when we take away all we can, strip a thing down to its bare essentials, its simplest lines?"
September 21, 2017
Patrick is a good friend of mine, just so you know.
Under the guise of fighting her internal demons, this story, of Nest told by Q, is a story of love and compassion, of acceptance and affection.
As Q recovers from a car accident in which Nest is seriously injured he remembers a walk through the city when they were seventeen. Nest has learned to tame her internal demon, a Chimaera, by walking and Q more than willingly accompanies her through the city. Nest talks, Q listens and the story is unfolds in their voices—Nest’s long sometimes rambling monologues on her life and understands, with Q’s ponderings on the side. Nest has learned to tame her internal demon, a Chimaera, by walking and Q more than willingly accompanies her through the city. Nest’s life is full of love, and equally real is the Chimeara who sometimes is quiet, sometimes rages, but is always there.
An intricate, haunting story full of love and without easy fixes or false promises sometimes envisioned and wished for. “At this moment, Nest first showed a sign of cracking, I wanted to say something, I wanted to ease her mind….I learned helplessness. I learned love doesn’t always penetrate distress.” (p 116-17)
A poignant, beautifully-written, novel. Highly recommended.
Under the guise of fighting her internal demons, this story, of Nest told by Q, is a story of love and compassion, of acceptance and affection.
As Q recovers from a car accident in which Nest is seriously injured he remembers a walk through the city when they were seventeen. Nest has learned to tame her internal demon, a Chimaera, by walking and Q more than willingly accompanies her through the city. Nest talks, Q listens and the story is unfolds in their voices—Nest’s long sometimes rambling monologues on her life and understands, with Q’s ponderings on the side. Nest has learned to tame her internal demon, a Chimaera, by walking and Q more than willingly accompanies her through the city. Nest’s life is full of love, and equally real is the Chimeara who sometimes is quiet, sometimes rages, but is always there.
An intricate, haunting story full of love and without easy fixes or false promises sometimes envisioned and wished for. “At this moment, Nest first showed a sign of cracking, I wanted to say something, I wanted to ease her mind….I learned helplessness. I learned love doesn’t always penetrate distress.” (p 116-17)
A poignant, beautifully-written, novel. Highly recommended.
August 4, 2018
"At this moment, Nest first showed a sign of cracking. I wanted to say something, I wanted to ease her mind, but I thought my voice might upset her even more. I learned helplessness. I learned love doesn’t always penetrate distress. And I learned Nest could turn and fold on herself—like an oxbow in a river—from one minute to the next."
--- Patrick Downes, Ten Miles One Way
=============================================
My heart hurts as it always does when I read Patrick Downes' books.
I really think that Downes gets it. He gets what it's like to be insane, and not wanting to be insane, and yet it's a part of you nevertheless.
I feel exhausted reading this book. It's basically a rant. Nest's rant. It's a long rant with a topic that goes everywhere it feels like. It's exhausting, and I know not many people would appreciate Downes' prose, his books are always either-you-love-it-or-hate-it case, but this--this, can you imagine? Being trapped inside this monster of an illness is feeling this exhaustion all the time.
Do you get it? Do you understand?
This is it. This is how it feels like.
--- Patrick Downes, Ten Miles One Way
=============================================
My heart hurts as it always does when I read Patrick Downes' books.
I really think that Downes gets it. He gets what it's like to be insane, and not wanting to be insane, and yet it's a part of you nevertheless.
I feel exhausted reading this book. It's basically a rant. Nest's rant. It's a long rant with a topic that goes everywhere it feels like. It's exhausting, and I know not many people would appreciate Downes' prose, his books are always either-you-love-it-or-hate-it case, but this--this, can you imagine? Being trapped inside this monster of an illness is feeling this exhaustion all the time.
Do you get it? Do you understand?
This is it. This is how it feels like.
June 3, 2017
As anyone who's followed me since 2015 knows, I liked Fell of Dark a good amount despite it being exceedingly uncomfortable and draining to read both mentally and emotionally. I don't think it'll surprise you that I thought this one was even better, though most of the same things that made his first book draining apply here too. Nobody writes about the scary, ugly parts of mental illness the way Downes does (for better or worse), and this book hit upon so many, many truths of what it's like to have a mind that's going out of control. It hurts, and the relatively inconclusive ending doesn't make the hurt much better, but sometimes reading the books that hurt remind you that you're not alone.
June 8, 2017
Beautiful and haunting, interesting and tragic. I read it one sitting and was sad for it to end.
April 6, 2020
I admit, I was prepared not to like this book. I only read it for research purposes. It sounded like a lot of stream-of-consciousness navel-gazing, which is the sort of thing that drives me nuts, not to mention bores me. I was really surprised to find it so captivating.
A large part of the appeal for me was the language and imagery. I felt drawn into Nest's world. Yes, it was a little stream-of-consciousy, but not in a way that was difficult to follow or irrational. The overall novel didn't have much of a plot, but there were numerous stories within the book that all added up to the development of the characters, and that was more than enough for me.
I will say, the depiction of bipolar in this book is unusual. We don't really get a glimpse into the depression side of bipolar, and the mania is just... well, odd. She calls it the "angers," and it seems to be relatively shortlived and include blacking out, almost disassociative at one point. But unlike some books (I'm looking at you, The Edge of Brilliance), I found it 100% believable. Not all mental illness - even within a diagnosis - is experienced the same, and reading this, I could absolutely believe that this is how it might manifest for someone, even if I've never heard of it occurring that way. I admit, I think that had more to do with the writing than the probability of the symptoms, but it worked for me.
I also loved that this is a book that includes the parents. They're not absent or cold and distant or even peripheral. They are a central part of the story. spoiler> And I absolutely loved seeing a father teach his daughter how to live with this disorder. Yes, on one hand, their manic episodes don't include a lot of reckless or irrational behavior, which is a little weird. But on the other hand, there are coping strategies for manic episodes, and these walks could absolutely be one of them. And I found something beautiful about her dad teaching her that.
Overall, it would have been about a 4.5 for me, but the ending felt pretty unsatisfying, so I'm going to call it a solid 4.
A large part of the appeal for me was the language and imagery. I felt drawn into Nest's world. Yes, it was a little stream-of-consciousy, but not in a way that was difficult to follow or irrational. The overall novel didn't have much of a plot, but there were numerous stories within the book that all added up to the development of the characters, and that was more than enough for me.
I will say, the depiction of bipolar in this book is unusual. We don't really get a glimpse into the depression side of bipolar, and the mania is just... well, odd. She calls it the "angers," and it seems to be relatively shortlived and include blacking out, almost disassociative at one point. But unlike some books (I'm looking at you, The Edge of Brilliance), I found it 100% believable. Not all mental illness - even within a diagnosis - is experienced the same, and reading this, I could absolutely believe that this is how it might manifest for someone, even if I've never heard of it occurring that way. I admit, I think that had more to do with the writing than the probability of the symptoms, but it worked for me.
I also loved that this is a book that includes the parents. They're not absent or cold and distant or even peripheral. They are a central part of the story. spoiler> And I absolutely loved seeing a father teach his daughter how to live with this disorder. Yes, on one hand, their manic episodes don't include a lot of reckless or irrational behavior, which is a little weird. But on the other hand, there are coping strategies for manic episodes, and these walks could absolutely be one of them. And I found something beautiful about her dad teaching her that.
Overall, it would have been about a 4.5 for me, but the ending felt pretty unsatisfying, so I'm going to call it a solid 4.
April 4, 2024
This book is called “Ten Miles One Way” By Patrick Downes. The main characters are Nest and Q, they are best friends. The setting of this book is many places such as outside in the city, in houses, the hospital. How I found this book: There were good reviews online and also my friend recommended it to me.
Nest gets in a really bad car crash, she hits a tree. She broke her collarbone and hit her head super hard. While she was in the hospital Q wanted to visit her, like a good friend would. Nest was acting really off and wouldn't let Q visit her. After a while in the hospital Nest has to go back to school. She passed Q in the hallway and smiled, she realized she smiled and dropped it right away. She didn't talk to her once that day. She didn't even look at her. Q thinks she's not mad, she's just mad at the whole situation of having to come back to school after the accident.
My favorite part about the end of the book is when Nest apologizes to Q for ignoring her and being mad at her. Although Nest never told her why she was so mad, Q still forgave her. They went on lots of walks around the city and met lots of new people. Nest and Q did everything together. They are best friends and they will be forever. Another one of my favorite parts is when Nest kept having repeated dreams about Q. They were in a huge white room. It was empty. They were running, running from something but they didn’t know what they were running from. They were in the city. They were running through allies ways of huge buildings. Since this sames dream kept repeating she was worried it would come true….
I think this is a great book. It's very educational and interesting. Although there are lots of random parts with random parts that have nothing to do with that part of the book. People who might like this book are people who like cliffhangers and people who care about friendships.
Nest gets in a really bad car crash, she hits a tree. She broke her collarbone and hit her head super hard. While she was in the hospital Q wanted to visit her, like a good friend would. Nest was acting really off and wouldn't let Q visit her. After a while in the hospital Nest has to go back to school. She passed Q in the hallway and smiled, she realized she smiled and dropped it right away. She didn't talk to her once that day. She didn't even look at her. Q thinks she's not mad, she's just mad at the whole situation of having to come back to school after the accident.
My favorite part about the end of the book is when Nest apologizes to Q for ignoring her and being mad at her. Although Nest never told her why she was so mad, Q still forgave her. They went on lots of walks around the city and met lots of new people. Nest and Q did everything together. They are best friends and they will be forever. Another one of my favorite parts is when Nest kept having repeated dreams about Q. They were in a huge white room. It was empty. They were running, running from something but they didn’t know what they were running from. They were in the city. They were running through allies ways of huge buildings. Since this sames dream kept repeating she was worried it would come true….
I think this is a great book. It's very educational and interesting. Although there are lots of random parts with random parts that have nothing to do with that part of the book. People who might like this book are people who like cliffhangers and people who care about friendships.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2017
"What if love's the only word I could say, and I could only say it a certain number of times? A hundred times or less. I would have to be careful with it. We are never careful with the number of words we use, are we? I would have to be careful with love.
For instance, you, because you're nice, ask, 'May I buy you lunch at Astro?' I would have to say, 'Love.'
Wait—: lunch? That's not important enough, is it, if I can only say love fifty times in my life?"
Ten Miles One Way carries love with every page. It is a story to be cherished. Protect it.
Listen to others. Do not talk. Listen.
Sometimes they have a Chimaera in them. A Minotaur. An Anger.
Listen.
Be there for someone when they need it most, or even when they don't.
Walk. Listen. Love.
Read.
"I'm so ridiculous. If I live a thousand years and want to say love with every breath, I would never run out. At the end, I would weigh as much as dust, and that one word would be half of my weight, and.
I would die with a whisper: 'Love.'"
For instance, you, because you're nice, ask, 'May I buy you lunch at Astro?' I would have to say, 'Love.'
Wait—: lunch? That's not important enough, is it, if I can only say love fifty times in my life?"
Ten Miles One Way carries love with every page. It is a story to be cherished. Protect it.
Listen to others. Do not talk. Listen.
Sometimes they have a Chimaera in them. A Minotaur. An Anger.
Listen.
Be there for someone when they need it most, or even when they don't.
Walk. Listen. Love.
Read.
"I'm so ridiculous. If I live a thousand years and want to say love with every breath, I would never run out. At the end, I would weigh as much as dust, and that one word would be half of my weight, and.
I would die with a whisper: 'Love.'"
May 6, 2019
I finished this book in two days. The writing style is extremely easy to fly through. But, with that being said -- the story wasn't entirely an actual plot line. The entire novel is set during a walk between Nest (who suffers from bipolar disorder) and her boyfriend, as they are walking 10 miles to help Nest with her insomnia/"angers". The author does an interesting job portraying what is inside Nests mind, with all her random thoughts and feelings. But, you could pretty much pick the book on any page and not have missed anything because none the dialogue was connect from one page to the next. Ultimately, the story was about her boyfriend reminiscing about this first walk together, and putting together a letter about Nest, in case she didn't wake up from her coma after crashing her car. The ending of the book felt a little rushed, I would have liked a bit more of a wrap up/understand of if Nest was okay. But, overall for a novel less than 200 pages it was interesting and intriguing enough for 4 stars.
December 8, 2021
This was really interesting.
I didn't really understand it, but I did try. I think the biggest thing that I got from this is the fact that everyone has their own thing. And that Q is literally the epitome of my ideal love interest. Want to know pretty much exactly what I want out of a guy? Read this book. Well, read it anyway because it's pretty good. The ending made me tear up, although the whole story ended in a pretty open ended way. Not sure how I feel about that. I usually need closure, but this one, I feel confused about. All in all, the writing style was fantastic, and what I did understand was heartbreakingly beautiful and sad, but at the same time light in a weird way.
I didn't really understand it, but I did try. I think the biggest thing that I got from this is the fact that everyone has their own thing. And that Q is literally the epitome of my ideal love interest. Want to know pretty much exactly what I want out of a guy? Read this book. Well, read it anyway because it's pretty good. The ending made me tear up, although the whole story ended in a pretty open ended way. Not sure how I feel about that. I usually need closure, but this one, I feel confused about. All in all, the writing style was fantastic, and what I did understand was heartbreakingly beautiful and sad, but at the same time light in a weird way.
November 19, 2017
I don't know what to think of this one. Yet, I am sure it will stay with me for quite a while.
Q tells of a walk he took with Nest, at least the first half of it, when they were 17. Nest is bi-polar and she talks to him on this walk, but won't let him talk--she's in a manic phase. I think she is testing him--to see just how true he is. And Q is true, he's not afraid of her Chimera, the hidden part of her that she'd prefer he not see, but he must see, if he is to stay.
Q tells of a walk he took with Nest, at least the first half of it, when they were 17. Nest is bi-polar and she talks to him on this walk, but won't let him talk--she's in a manic phase. I think she is testing him--to see just how true he is. And Q is true, he's not afraid of her Chimera, the hidden part of her that she'd prefer he not see, but he must see, if he is to stay.
December 5, 2020
Mental Health takes a new turn with Downes writing of his two main characters.
.
.
I actually found this book at Ollie's Bargain Outlet and I it really caught my eye with the book sleeve.
This book takes a look at the manic episodes that can be a side effect of bipolar disease. The way Downes used the relationship between Q and his one true love who is suffering with this mental health problem. Highly recommend this to YA readers and fans of books that take a look at mental health.
.
.
I actually found this book at Ollie's Bargain Outlet and I it really caught my eye with the book sleeve.
This book takes a look at the manic episodes that can be a side effect of bipolar disease. The way Downes used the relationship between Q and his one true love who is suffering with this mental health problem. Highly recommend this to YA readers and fans of books that take a look at mental health.
March 26, 2017
Writing was great.This book consists of ten chapters(which stands for ten miles obviously).The author deserves to be praised for making Nest and Nest's family character so relatable(Mainly making Nest's character relatable).May be an extra chapter could have been written about Issac in the beginning part.
Different reading experience !!
Different reading experience !!
February 20, 2019
This book is unique in its brilliance. I can't tell you what happens in the book because there is so much happening, although there are only two people taking a walk.
Have you ever wondered what life is like for someone suffering from bipolar disorder? This book will answer many questions and still, it will leave you in a state of awe.
Have you ever wondered what life is like for someone suffering from bipolar disorder? This book will answer many questions and still, it will leave you in a state of awe.
July 27, 2022
If I'm being honest, this book is not worth reading, at least for me. Maybe I'm missing something, but this book has no plot, and it's pretty much a book about walking. I will say, however, that the characters are people that some could look up to and it does raise awareness about mental health and trauma. It's only a shame I didn't like it though :(.
September 4, 2018
I can feel Nest’s sufferings. Her inner chimaera, her endless flow of thoughts. If you ever wonder what’s going on in the head of an intelligent girl who is suffering from mental illness, this book will answer your questions. It’s complicated.
November 11, 2018
Tough to review. I thought it was interesting in the sense that I bought into the characters, but I didn’t find it to be compelling, nor did I really think about the characters once I closed the book.
December 27, 2021
i finished a book!
no because…that was so good???
this was a library book so i couldn’t annotate but i literally made a notes page just filled with quotes.
“its not pessimistic. im saying our last day is the first day of forever.”
no because…that was so good???
this was a library book so i couldn’t annotate but i literally made a notes page just filled with quotes.
“its not pessimistic. im saying our last day is the first day of forever.”
March 10, 2022
As someone with bipolar I, I think that the author did a good job writing what pressured speech and flight of ideas sounds/looks like. It meant a lot to me to read something about bipolar that had to do with unconditional love and acceptance.
June 30, 2017
If John Green's Papertowns met Romeo & Juliet it might look like this. A love story both tragic and beautiful. While quick to read it lingers.
August 18, 2017
A book about mental illness. A book about love. A thought-provoking read for sure.
December 2, 2017
i feel as if the style of writing in this book was like the mental illness (bipolar i figure, not entirely certain) talking to the reader, and I liked it.
January 4, 2018
everytime i say people are magic. this book is what i mean.
June 20, 2018
It was ok.
July 20, 2019
That was not an ending at all that was like the book randomly cut off on a page
July 21, 2019
This book so bizarre, mysterious, and captivating. It made me cry, laugh, and smile all the way through. The way that it was set up was so incredibly unique it just drew me in completely. Amazing.
December 1, 2020
Truly an exceptional book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews