Joyce gives her characters insightful observations: “a person could be trapped in a version of themselves that was from another time, and completely miss the happiness that was staring them in the face” in this novella filled with humour and heartache, wit and wisdom. The illustrations by Andrew Davidson at the start of each chapter add charm. Short, beautifully written: a joy to read. I loved both The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy from this series but the final one left me feeling very disappointed. I couldn’t connect to the main character, Maureen, at all and frankly, I was quite bored sometimes while reading this one. It was very repetitive in the fact that Maureen whines and complains and gets angry over and over again. Rachel Joyce usually writes about the ordinary in an extraordinary way but this one just fell flat. Hers is a very different quest from Harold’s, and her private nature makes it hard for her to ask for or accept help. Having a car means she can retreat, be on her way, take her leave without needing anyone.

But, how did Harold’s wife, Maureen feel during all of this? They had been living in the same home, but fairly estranged prior to his walk-and she didn’t come across as the warmest person, BUT-was she really okay with it, when it all began?!This is touching, emotional, moving and sad as Maureen assesses herself, learns a lot and find the peace she craves in one really beautiful scene. She finds kindness and understanding in places she least expects it and the whole experience is heartwarming. Maureen Fry has settled into the quiet life she now shares with her husband Harold after his iconic walk across England. Now, ten years later, an unexpected message from the North disturbs her equilibrium again, and this time it is Maureen's turn to make her own journey. Rachel Joyce is deeply attuned to the complex rhythms of life and love and she sublimates this understanding, sentence by delicate, powerful, glistening sentence into an unforgettable story. It's beautiful all through, but the closing chapters are just astonishing, transcendent and hope-filled and life-affirming. I'll never forget this wonderful novel or the sunny, slightly teary day I spent reading it. Donal Ryan

Maureen Fry is an emotionally damaged woman who is grieving for David, her son who died many years earlier. The third book of the Harold Fry trilogy revolves around Maureen, Harold's wife. The trilogy started when Harold went on a pilgrimage to visit his friend, Queenie, in a hospice. Years earlier, Queenie had made a memorial garden by the sea using found objects washed up by the ocean in combination with greenery and flowers. One part of the garden was dedicated to David Fry because Queenie regretted that she was unable to help the young man who committed suicide. Thanks you to Rachel Joyce, Dial Press, and NetGalley for this poignant story which has already published. She’s off to see Queenie’s garden where there are tributes left for people… one of them in her garden is left there for Harold and Maureen’s son David who died by suicide. Maureen Fry is wonderfully complex, flinty and closed and obsessive yet full of love and concern for others as she navigates her present and her past, carrying her terrible burdens of grief and guilt. But her snob trigger is still pretty sensitive. She stops to see one of Harold’s trek friends, hoping for a relaxing welcome.It’s going to be a long trip. It’s ten years since Harold make his long trek to visit Queenie Hennessy, and since then, Maureen has been haunted by something she knew about Queenie that she has never disclosed to Harold. Poor Maureen. She just never figured out exactly how to deal with the world. Unlike her husband Harold, she can't open herself up to friendship because she's too suspicious. Unlike his friend Queenie, she can't find joy in the midst of tragedy. The suicide of her son 30 years ago has left her angry and withdrawn. I’ve read all of Rachel Joyce’s books, or at least the ones I can find, and loved them all, but this is one that will stay in my heart for a long time. The final novel in the Harold Fry trilogy, this is a heart-stopping story told from the view point of his wife Maureen as she takes her own journey and discovers how to reconnect with the world.