I loved this book, the characters are brilliant and I'm going to miss Meredith. This was such an emotional book, not like anything I'd read before. A heart wrenching yet uplifting story. I will be recommending this to everyone

After a difficult childhood and a very traumatic incident in her mid-thirties, Meredith finds herself unable to leave her house. After almost four years of staying inside, and through the love, support, and friendship of people close to her - including some new-found friends - she decides that the time has come to actually see the world rather than just looking at it through her completed jigsaws.

This is a heartwarming story and one that would ultimately give people suffering with their mental health hope, but I do think there’s a lot in here that could prove triggering, I found the book a difficult read at times. Not because it’s graphic or describes things in particularly harrowing ways, but rather because Meredith is such a realistic and relatable character that it was easy to be reminded of the times I was similarly suffering with my mental health.

The author has done a brilliant job of creating genuine and real characters, and I do think this is a good book. There are similarities to Eleanor Oliphant, but the fact that Meredith hasn’t left her house makes it a different take on the story of someone who has lost their way in the world and is in need of support and compassion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an intriguing and fascinating read with a pleasant main character and some interesting issues with trauma, abuse and mental health at the core. It’s not quite clear exactly what stopped Meredith leaving her house for all that time although it can be linked to an event, she has reached the stage where she is receiving therapy and is accepting of a visit from a befriender but not yet able to leave her home. She has a great best friend and a good online support network so her isolation hasn’t made her fully withdraw from the world but her relations with her family are strained. Meredith wasn’t what I expected, she keeps herself busy and engages well with the people she chooses to have in her life, she is very clearly affected by several issues and the impact of her childhood definitely makes her less open overall but she is actually a nice person. This had quite a lot of dark moments and I found whilst I got into this book quite easily it started to feel less easy as I got through it. Overall though Meredith is a solid character and her situation is thoughtfully and sensitively portrayed.

A Heart-wrenching and Heart-warming Read.

I haven't read Claire Alexander previously, but I'll be sure to check out her other books after this excellent read. I finished this book in one sitting, and it's not a short read.

"My name is Meredith Maggs and I haven't left my home for 1,214 days." ... from this highly interesting opening line, we're taken into the life of "Mer", who hasn't left her house for about three years, following a trauma.

The writing is powerful and packs a punch. This book will make you cry and have you laughing out loud at various points. Any traumatic references are in the past and covered sympathetically and aren't too arduous to read about. Here are some lines I loved ...

"... all the pretending in my life is a ten when the truth is that most days barely scratch the underside of a six."

And ...

"I told her that I didn't think affirmations were supposed to be lies, which led to a long conversation about self-sabotaging behaviours."

And ...

"... she told me in the cross voice she uses to hide more complicated emotions."

And ...

"... my mouth was shaped for a Chardonnay, so I decided I might as well make the most of it."

I could go on and on ... the writing was so good. Okay, so I lied ... here's one final line ... "Maybe it wasn't too late to consider a different version of myself from the one Mama had strapped meinto, like a too-tight coat."

As you might have guessed, Meredith, Alone gets a resounding 5 stars from me. Read this book: you will love it!

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

If you enjoyed “Eleanor Oliphant” then this book’s main character reminds me of her in lots of ways, whilst also being very different.

Meredith hasn’t left her home in years. Instead she spends her days alone, working and surviving within the same 4 walls with Fred her cat and visits from her long time best friend Sadie. Meredith is estranged from her mum and sister but finds solace in online chat rooms. When two strangers enter her life, Meredith finds that things may be starting to change….

I read this book in a day, after reading some brilliant reviews of it. I literally couldn’t put it down, as I lived through Meredith’s days with her. Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for my copy. I loved it.

This was impossible to put down. Fantastic book that deals with some really very difficult subject matter

Excellent read, very different from my usual genre. Well written with a good storyline, believable characters. Would recommend it to everyone, you won't be disappointed.

Why has Meredith Maggs not left her house for over 3 years?
The story unfolds and we discover what has happened to her and how she tries to overcome her fear.
With help from friends new and old..
Enjoyable story with likeable characters.I would recommend for fans of Eleanor Oliphant.

I enjoyed this book and I enjoyed getting to know Meredith and Fee and their sad story. It touches on a lot of issues, mental health, child abuse and marital abuse, not a light hearted read and dark in places but there is a good message along the way too. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this early copy.

Well, this is a deeply thought provoking book. It gently, and sometimes even darkly, deals with many mental health issues. It has some lighter parts but overall it is quite an intense read. It will definitely stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph and Netgalley for the ARC.
3.9 stars
SPOILERS ahead.

Opening line made me laugh. However, this book is much darker than the pitch — or the opening line, for that matter — suggests (and the cover). On the other hand, it makes sense that someone’s spending over a thousand days inside cannot be for any simple, light reason. (Side note, “Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in 1,214 days” — immediate association with the lockdown; I can see many readers buying this book purely for this sentence).

I was under the impression that “something’s about to change. Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door” in the blurb would be a kind of call to adventure. I think I was mentally comparing this story to Eleanor Oliphant, so when there was no “call to adventure” in a similar sense as with the aforementioned character (but not solely for this reason) it felt somewhat underwhelming when I reached the final page. There are some issues that have no resolution or lack clarity: Meredith’s reason for breaking up with Gavin, her online support group’s abandoned in the last twenty percent (or so) of the book and not mentioned again, why is there still a day counter at the top of every “present day” chapter after Meredith has left her house, what happened to her father (why he wrote hundreds of letters but never showed up). Also, Meredith often points out how beautiful her therapist is, which made me think that something was going to happen there, but it didn’t. Tom and Celeste — it felt like Meredith wanting to bring them together was an attempt to not go down the “well-trodden” path of including a love story for the female protagonist. However, Tom and Meredith have developed such a strong relationship, it would’ve made more sense if they ended up together or at least, if there was a hint that this might be a possibility in the future. Jumping between the “present day” and 80s, 90s, 00s made it hard for me to follow the order of the events that happened to Meredith in the past.
In general, this is a decent story and Meredith is clearly a character in her own right.

I'm not going to ruin this book for anyone by outlining the plot. Suffice it to say that Meredith Alone is a wonderfully engaging book with a hugely sympathetic and likeable protagonist and a cast of characters who help to bring her whole world to life, particularly Meredith's sister Fiona, her best friend Sadie and the lovely, kind Tom.

I didn't think I wanted to read a book about someone who hadn't left their house in over three years, but Claire Alexander pulls you into Meredith's world with so much heart and empathy that I found myself identifying with aspects of her life as someone who is a writer themselves. I absolutely loved the book as it flipped between timelines - so deftly that I wasn't disorientated and a little bit more of the puzzle was revealed. I actually raced to the end of it.

This is going to be a huge book. Like Eleanor Oliphant and The Maid. I loved it.

Meredith is a recluse. She has not left her house in over three years since a traumatic incident caused her to withdraw from life. She is estranged from her mother and her sister, and relies on a friend since childhood, Sadie, to visit and take Fred, Meredith’s beloved cat, to the vets if needed. Meredith’s panic attacks and fear of the outside world make it difficult to let anyone get close, so she communicates through a chat room. Sadie also gets her to meet with someone from a charity that helps people make friends. Along with her therapist this is the most contact that Meredith has.

This is a deep, and at times, dark story, which really gets to the heart of someone with mental health issues. From Meredith’s point of view we see how difficult her life is and how she copes with day to day living. Luckily she does have people who care, though at times Meredith finds them hard to have near. With her horrendous childhood and upsetting events in her life, Meredith is very often close to the edge.

If you want a light hearted, feel good read, then this is not the book for you. It is a thought provoking, serious book, very well written and the issues raised are dealt with sensitively and compassionately. Hopefully there is always light at the end of even the darkest tunnel.

Thank you NetGalley.

'Meredith, Alone' is a book about a woman who becomes agoraphobic after a traumatising experience. She ends up cut off from her family, but still has her best friend, friend's she meets on advice websites, and a friend she's made through a charity. I absolutely loved Meredith's character development throughout this book; it's an accurate representation of how trauma can debilitate someone and how important the right support group is to help someone out of that hole.

Overall, this is a very accomplished novel that covers a number of issues via the character of Meredith who despite her problems is an absolute pleasure to get to know! If you're looking for something to kick a reading slump or if you just want a good book to sweep you off your feet this year: look no further.

I loved this story and I absolutely loved Meredith as a character it was a rather predictable storyline but this didn’t put me off it was a super easy read and topics on anxiety and metal health were covered sensitively.

I wasn’t sure if this would be a book for me but decided to give it a go anyway. And I’m pleased I did. Great characters and a beautiful story, focussing on the very important subject of mental health.

Normally I love novels like this but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. I picked it up and put it down so many times that it left me frustrated.

"All that stands between Meredith and the world is her own front door... but what will it take to open it?"

Whilst this book isn't my usual crime/thriller genre of choice, I couldn't put it down. I wanted to learn more about Meredith, to know what had happened in her past and to find out what she was going to do next. The cast of characters in this book are perfect - as well as getting to know Meredith, we get insights into the lives of her friends Tom, Sadie and Celeste, her sister Fiona and many more. It is just a beautifully written, funny, poignant, wonderful book and one which I can definitely see myself re-reading in the future.

From a real life agoraphobic person, this book is spot on with the thoughts, feelings and processes of facing the outside world after years inside with just your own company.
This book is heart warming, thought provoking and full of hope.