I am a big fan of Cathy Bramley’s books, and it is no surprise that I liked this one. The premise was intriguing to me, the idea of a “gap year” for Mums has great appeal and I was curious to see how the story would play out.
This is not a travelogue, it is more a story about grief, and finding a way to move through it.
The protagonist was reasonably relatable, I loved seeing an older woman have adventures abroad. I also loved that she was giving some thought as to how to make a positive contribution in all the places she visited.
The mother/daughter bond was explored sensitively and realistically, and I enjoyed the contrasts employed.
There are flashbacks, but they work, the story structure was well laid out and not confusing at all.
My only criticism is that everything wrapped up in the end a little too neatly, and the romantic interest, once re-encountered, was too good to be true-I had no sense of what he was really like as a person. I know that a “happy ever after” is considered obligatory in women’s fiction, but it was a bit too pat for me. I also think the way things fell in to place for our protagonist was a bit too easy- a bit more struggle, a bit more ambiguity about choices would have gone a long way toward making the ending more believable. Overall, an enjoyable read and one I will happily recommend.

Wow what a powerful and moving read. It blew my socks away how emotional I got reading this book. Magnolia Jones is missing part of herself as her precious daughter had a fatal accident and Magnolia is still struggling to accept that her daughter is not coming back. Magnolia's work is being affected so they have given her time off work. Her daughter was planning to travel the world and see the sights, so Magnolia decides to go on the trip through her daughters eyes. But Magnolia is not young anymore can she really do this and will it bring her a little closure and comfort that she needs. It was a heart breaking and emotional read that deals with grief and courage and I loved the way Magnolia turned it around. Cathy's writing is very detailed and powerful. It was such a beautiful read.

Cathy Bramley is a fab author.
Really good book that i will recommend to others.

Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

What a book! this book made me feel all the feels. As someone who has dealt with loss quite a bit I could relate so much to the pain our MC was feeling. I was heartbroken over get for the loss of her daughter. It was such a beautiful book of rediscovering life after loss and experiencing love along the way while never letting go of the love that was lost. It remains with you forever. Love never dies.