What a joy this book is! A rather odd thing to say about a memoir by a woman who has seen such appalling illness and has come so close to death, but the book is so full of hope, warmth, friendship and belonging that the reader can’t help but be uplifted by it. Kathleen Hart writes beautifully, with an immediately appealing style, and all who read this wonderful book will be willing her on to a long and healthy life in the small Scottish village where she finds herself in this genuinely beautiful autobiography.

Such an inspirational book. Although you read the highs and the very lows, there is never a feeling of self pity from the author. The people who surround her are so much part of her recovery story, and there is a real sense of care and community amongs them.
I'm so glad to have read this book. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this inspiring story of hope and ...as my Grandma would have said...'Rising above it'.

Excellent read and so heartwarming. Kathleen Hart comes over as such a brave and lovely person and her story of settling down in the cottage and the characters of the village can help but put a smile on your face. A thoroughly uplifting read.

A truly inspirational read.
Kathleen Hart has been through so much and moves to a village in Scotland to recover. The people are friendly and fully except Kathleen into their community.
The writing is from the heart and I really hope that there will be more tales from Devorgilla.
I loved this book so much.
Thank you NetGalley.

I loved this book, I truly feel it is a worthy contender to take its place alongside bestsellers such as Raynor Winn's The Salt Path. In facing huge challenges in her recovery from major illness and surgery, cowed but "still above ground", the author buys - truly on a whim - a totally rundown cottage in Wigtown in Galloway, Scotland and courageously makes the move there on her own. (I happen to know Wigtown, having been there on an ancestral pilgrimage with my Scottish husband. It felt as if we were driving to the end of the earth).

For Kathleen, it turns out that Devorgilla Cottage is a sanctuary, the town and the area is full of interesting and interested people who open their hearts to this "blow-in" and importantly, the ever-present ocean plays a significant part in her healing, as the author takes to wild swimming in it in all weathers. It is a book for lovers of nature. It is a wonderful book of connection, (including the author connecting with her true self - the designer handbags could not seem further away). It is a book of community and healing, written with a light touch of wry humour, that carries the reader along and into the heart of the author's story against the backdrop of a fascinating remote, rugged, beautiful part of the country.

This book appealed to me immediately....the cover in itelf is bright, cheerful and inviting. I wasn't disappointed by the content, either. It is a gem of a book, and I'm already looking forward to rereading it.

The author has had some terrible health issues; at times, these feel insurmountable and unbearable. In spite of these debilitating issues, she rises above them all, buying herself a small cottage in Wigtown, Scotland, which she renovates whilst healing herself.

She swims, knits, learns how to bee keep, makes friends, and dances her way through her new life and the life of the community. It's uplifting and beautifully writtten. It's a healing process that she shares with us and her story is encouraging to anyone who wants to change their life and live more simply...it's possible, and enjoyable.

The added bonus is the mention of her Instagram account, which is also gloriously visual and inspiring. The only downside is the possibility of an influx of persons to Wigtown, which I wish I'd known about before, being a book town!

I really enjoyed reading this account of Hart moving to a Scottish village and making a new life for herself there. Despite the huge personal difficulties she describes, the book is written with such a light touch that it makes for really 'easy' reading. Utterly inspiring - a love letter to the sea and a Scottish village.

This was one of those books which had a deep underlying story of really bad health but came across as a story of happiness, peacefulness and real deep friendship. I really enjoyed it as an easy read and one which showed the benefits of a change of life can reap real rewards. If you want fast movement this is not for you, if you want good writing then it is!

This is a truly moving account of showing resilience in the face of adversity. In these hard times it was a pleasure to be whisked away to Devorgilla cottage in Wigtown, which is Scotlands book town.. I certainly made me want to go there and visit all the beautiful places described in this book. After numerous health issues Kathleen moves to a dilapidated cottage in Scotland where she fully embraces the local culture and is able to pursue her love of sea swimming. Beautifully written ? I was immensely uplifted both with Katleen and her journey.

Devorgilla Days' is an absolute tonic for the soul. A beautiful book about starting again and not giving up when life has dealt you a tough hand. Kathleen Kent is a wonderful author, she has a very intimate way of writing that draws you in and fills your head with beautiful pictures of the people and landscapes she meets and sees. I defy anyone to read this book and not put Wigtown on a list of place they want to visit. I'm already planning a trip there (when we can finally do things like go on trips that don't involve supermarkets!) At any time this book would lift one's spirits but right now it was exactly the right kind of book to be reading and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling and the hope that things can turn out okay in the end. I sincerely hope that we will be able to return to Devorgilla Cottage in further books.

I will be very, very surprised if this memoir isn’t a massive success. It’s going to strike a chord with all of us who have been forced by lockdown to reassess our lives and to think about what really is important.
I’ll also be very, very surprised if whoever reads it doesn’t start Googling ‘Property for sale in Wigtown’. I know I did.
This is a story about loss, and about recovering from it. Kathleen Hart’s psychiatrist sums it up: ‘You’ve lost everything’. Kathleen asks how you cope with the loss of your identity, the loss of your career, your health, your figure, your home, your partner ... and find happiness.
Kathleen has been through ‘a medical maelstrom’. Her brain has been frazzled, she says, by fourteen general anaesthetics, which have made it ‘slow, fuzzy and so, so tired’. Some days she feels as if she is wading through treacle. Her glamorous body has gone from ‘top drawer to bargain basement’. Her partner tells her, when she comes out of the shower, that her body after a mastectomy was ‘not very pretty’. The reader is pleased to see her leave him behind when starting her new life.
What Kathleen needs is a place where she can pull up the drawbridge and allow herself to heal. She heads for Dumfries and Galloway and buys a derelict cottage, which becomes her sanctuary, ‘a hug of a place where I feel comfortable and safe’. She names the cottage Devorgilla, after a feisty Scottish noblewoman, and channels her ‘moxie’.
This is mainly a story about the unimportance of handbags. In a previous life, says Kathleen, she and her friends could spend an evening in adoration and envy of the latest designer handbag:
‘I’ve become wise to it now, the nonsense I dialled into for decades. The buzz of buying Prada or the Dior or the latest whatever is absolutely fabulous, darling, a shopper’s high, but oh-so-fleeting, a temporary thrill’.
With her handbag friends, there was never any talk of ‘hopes or dreams or ideas or politics or books or current affairs’. It was an empty life, full of acquisitiveness and one-upmanship. Kathleen learns that the buzz she gets from beekeeping and wild swimming and dark-sky-gazing is in a different league. And the Scottish dancing, the Gaelic lessons, the watercolour painting, the Knit and Natter ... not to mention all the home baking. Life is rich, as Kathleen learns ‘to embrace life, to be my own best friend, to be happy in my own company’.
This is an absolutely inspiring book which I didn’t want to end. The Gallovidians accept Kathleen into their community with great warmth, and no questions asked. In return, she hymns their praise. I’m seriously considering moving there before the hordes arrive. Lockdown has made us all yearn for a simple life like this.
Many thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not follow Kathleen on her blog (though I do now). The description of this book sounded really interesting and I must say I was not disappointed.
This really is an uplifting and life affirming book that is totally captivating. While reading it I looked up so many references and points of interest it took longer to finish than I thought!
I can not recommend this book highly enough if you want a real tonic to lift your mood and to show what you can do with your life once you set your mind to it. I wont say much more as I will let the story tell itself but read this book you will not regret it..

This is a truly inspiring read from a truly inspirational, brave and courageous woman. I couldn’t have chosen a better day to read this, International Women’s Day.
This book shows you it’s ok, it’s ok to start again, it’s ok to find reprieve in peacefulness and ‘your place.
I loved the tantalising descriptions of Scotland and know that had I still been in England, rather than Scotland, I’d be promptly packing for a dose of the peace and restoration Scotland seems to bring. Such a wonderful read.

I greatly enjoyed reading this memoir of a life all but lost, but then regained in an entirely different guise. The details of Kathleen’s illness, surgeries, recoveries and sheer bad luck are not easy to read. But this lady has an indomitable spirit, and manages to find a way to reinvent a worthwhile and fulfilling life for herself in Galloway in the south west of Scotland, in her beloved cottage Devorgilla.
Her descriptions of her surrounding countryside and wildlife, interspersed with amusing anecdotes from her fellow villagers, are delightful, and made this reader resolve to visit the area when we can travel again. Although I have lived in Scotland all my life, I have not made the acquaintance of Galloway, but I will, based on this amazing story.
Whilst being a gentle and engrossing read, I also found it to be thought provoking, when Kathleen describes how, in her previous life, she and her companions could spend an entire afternoon together discussing the properties of the latest designer handbag. Her descriptions of how she disposed of all these ‘ important’ designer articles from her life, in order to fully focus on what is now truly important to her for survival struck a chord with me. During this past year of lockdowns and restrictions, how many of us have reached that same conclusion, I wonder?
Kathleen’s descriptive passages centring around her wild swimming are amazing. What a brave lady she is, she may well inspire some readers to try it for themselves.
Altogether what shines throughout this book is the determination of a very strong willed lady not to be crushed by desperately bad episodes of ill health and bad luck.
Kathleen has found her place in her new life, and has embraced huge change, whilst holding fast to her loving family and friends, even from a long distance. I am in awe of this lady, and what she has achieved. I do so hope she continues to write.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book. I heartily recommend it.

I hope that Wigtown is prepared for a lot of visitors once this book is published. A wonderful story, great descriptions of life in a small town. A bit like A Year in Provence for Scotland!

I absolutely devoured this gem of a read in two sittings. Kathleen (aka @PoshPedlar on instagram) decided to change her life after suffering breast cancer and associated illnesses which forced her to learn to walk again. I am in awe at what she went through and came out the other side.

While recuperating she spotted a little cottage for sale in Wigtown, the Scottish Book Town. On a whim and with a feeling of deja vu she drove miles to see it and bought it the very same day! It did need some love and tender care but very soon she has it the way she wants it and names it Devorgilla.

While still having health issues (she has the same rare illness as my dad!) she throws herself into village life and the book is peppered with anecdotes, some of which made me laugh out loud!

She goes swimming to keep her grounded and alive, even though the locals thinks she's nuts, throws herself into various clubs including a bee keeping course. I also loved the sound of The Wigtown Emporium which sells a range of treasures. It's an uplifting and heartwarming read which I really, really enjoyed.

I picked this book mainly based on the fact it was set in Wigtown, Scotland where I have holidayed and enjoyed the scenery. It took me a few chapters to get into the style of writing as not every anecdote is told in full or neatly finished at the end of each section. Once I understood that this was the case I loved following Kathleen’s journey. This gave great insight into her cancer battle and recuperation and settling into a new town. The scenery, town and characters she meets are all brought to life in this book and I can’t wait to visit the area again. In the meantime I will enjoy following her account on Instagram.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Kathleen Hart for the advance ebook copy.

I adored this book, I couldn't wait to get home from work to read it. What made it even better is when I realised I knew the area from having spent time in the Isle of Whithorn visiting my brother for a few summers. The author writes from the heart and it felt like I really got to know her and her journey to her new life. She writes so beautifully about the local area and people she has met. I really can't say enough good things about this book. For anyone who has dreamt about starting over this book shows you that with courage and self belief that it can be done. I'm so grateful that I found this book.

In parts a difficult but honest read with the subject matter. I felt fully immersed in the scenery and such beautiful descriptions of the surrounding area. An uplifting story and inspiring one. Not quite what i was expecting in a good way.

I couldn’t get into this. The style is very fragmented and it doesn’t flow well in my opinion. Not for me. DNF.