What is it about women in their forties, fifties and beyond? What’s that you say? They feel invisible? A bit boring? Something about menopause? No, actually, I was going to say they’re absolutely bloody brilliant. That’s why (especially after entering my own fifth decade) I wondered where all the kickass midlife women were on TV and in literature. One editor admitted to me once that it was ‘safer’ to write about younger women, that people weren’t so drawn to the midlife heroine. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised how many great stories just weren’t being told.
This poignant, tragi-comedy of a novel is
both relatable and uplifting.
And though the protagonist is going through a bit
of a crisis, it’s ultimately a story of a woman finding herself and coming into
her own.
Grace’s relationship with her teenage daughter is so well described –
as mum of a teen girl I recognised the sadness she felt when she realised her
daughter needed her less than she’d used to.
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER - AS RECOMMENDED BY DEBBIE MACOMBER!
'Sea, sunshine, romance and fabulous characters; Maddie's light touch and sense of fun will lift your spirits!' Bestselling author Judy Leigh
Sophia Gregory has lost her sparkle...
Recently single and about to turn sixty, Sophia doesn't recognise the old woman staring back at her in the mirror. How has life passed her by? A quiet holiday in beautiful Rhodes is the perfect chance for her to find herself.
Until she meets the Old Ducks!
Juliette, Kim and Anita are three friends who are determined not to grow old gracefully! Bold…
Secrets, lies, and second chances are served up beneath the stars in this moving novel by the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends. Think White Lotus meets Virgin River set at a picturesque mountain inn.
Seven days in summer. Eight lives forever changed. The stage is…
Amy is a 40-year-old single parent to
teenagers, who is suddenly given a second chance (thanks to a returning husband
and her old friend Talia).
It’s a relatable read about untrodden paths, the
choices we make and how life can take us in unexpected directions. Who hasn’t
sometimes wondered, “what if?” Amy gets to find out.
"A laugh-out-loud funny, pitch-perfect novel that will have readers rooting for this unlikely, relatable, and totally lovable heroine, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the ultimate escape-and will leave moms everywhere questioning whether it isn't time for a #momspringa of their own." -New York Journal of Books
Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.
*Published as BIG LITTLE LIES in Australia and the United States*
Liane Moriarty, million copy selling author of The Husband's Secret brings us another addictive story of secrets and scandal.
Jane hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste - two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their…
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
by
Meredith Marple,
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
It can be hard to be a woman in a perceived ‘man’s world’ in the 21st century, so imagine how kickass you had to be to work in a ‘man’s profession’ in Georgian times?
In Frances Quinn’s uplifting novel, Endurance Proudfoot (Durie) proves the naysayers wrong by becoming one of England’s most celebrated bonesetters.
'What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating - if bumpy - ride through a man's world. I laughed, cried and most of all cheered! Can't stop thinking about it... an absolute cruncher of a tale' Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal
'A complete joy of a novel that, like it's wonderful protagonist's namesake, is a story of endurance against all odds. Full of heart and so eloquently written, THAT BONESETTER WOMAN had me cheering Durie on from start to finish - I absolutely loved it' Susan…
Life isn’t quite going as planned for Katy. With her only daughter living in Australia and a husband who has asked for a break, she's suddenly at a loss. Her best friends, Sam, Vicky, and Ivy have always been there for her and they’re not about to leave her all alone now. Whisking her away to glorious France for a last-minute retreat is the perfect escape, and just what Katy needs to get her life back under control.
As Katy unwinds in the beautiful French countryside, surrounded by her friends, the pain of her past slowly begins to melt away under the warm summer sun. Will this reset give Katy a new lease on life and help her win back her husband? Or could there be a new love on the horizon?
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
by
Meredith Marple,
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away, leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion.