Take the Long Way Home
A classic road trip memoir about love, family, and surprisingly conversational wildlife.
In 2019, artist Jon Claytor said good-bye to the Maritimes and hit the road. His destination: an artist’s residency in Prince Rupert, where he planned to work on a graphic novel about his eight-week journey across Canada. But this story, like most, isn’t about the destination.
When Jon sets out, he’s less than two years sober, he’s recently broken up with his girlfriend, and his mother has just revealed a startling family secret. As Jon drives, he makes frequent stops to visit exes and children, old friends and new, and attends meetings to support his sobriety. He sorts through memories of his past, reconciling them with his present—and makes amends, seeks wisdom from wildlife, and learns the value of getting lost along the way.
In Take the Long Way Home, Claytor explores alcoholism, love, and family through heart-rending vignettes and expressive linework. This is the story of a man who unpacks a difficult past, only to discover that even at his lowest point, he was never truly alone.
Jon Claytor is a Maritime-based artist, painter, and writer. He is a co-founder of SappyFest, an independent music and arts festival and was a bartender and co-owner at Thunder & Lightning Ideas Ltd. in Sackville, New Brunswick. Jon is a father to five children and, for him, being a father is the biggest part of being an artist.
Jon Claytor’s work ranges from oil painting and watercolour to filmmaking, and he recently became a comic-writer. He worked with Ingram Gallery in Toronto and exhibited his paintings in Los Angeles. Jon holds an MFA from York University (2012), attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (1991), and holds a BFA Mount Allison University (1998).
