“Where Do We Go From Here” by Nick Alexander and brilliantly narrated by Eilidh Beaton is the story of Wendy, a mother, wife, and nurse whose family life was imploding from personal trauma, the difficulty of the pandemic, and her family’s growing distance. She retreats to France, taking a six-month sabbatical to “find herself.” Living abroad isn’t as easy as she thought it would be, and she starts a decline that might be difficult for her to climb out of. But with the help of a young friend and an awful lot of self-reflection, she manages to return home and get her life back on track.

While I enjoyed this book a lot, I feel it might gloss over issues that in real life might not be so easy to fix—particularly alcoholism. (Since it is clear from the first chapter, I don’t think I’m giving away any of the plot). I also felt Wendy’s husband was a little too good to be true. In my opinion, the book should have ended before the long, long epilogue.

Many thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for an advance audio copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Wendy is stressed out by being a nurse during the pandemic, a distant marriage, and angry children. After hearing of a contest to live alone for six months, Wendy books an off-the-grid cabin in France to gain perspective. The distance allows Wendy to see the effect of alcohol on her life and relationships.


As a child of alcoholics, I appreciate the focus on the effects of alcoholism on a life and family. Hearing Wendy describe her days, it is easy for readers to see the growing problem and denial. Wendy is not a particularly likable main character, but I don't think her family is either. We are only getting it from Wendy's point of view, but from how it has been presented, it does not seem like the family has done much of a proper intervention before just asking her to leave. Therefore, it is a little off that the younger daughter is the one to tell Wendy that her 21-year-old son is getting married and that Wendy can only attend if she doesn't drink. That is an awful thing to do to a teenager. When Wendy confronts her estranged husband, he responds, "Oh, you heard about that?" It is hard to root for Wendy and her husband to reunite.

Also, the way the conversations were represented was a bit awkward, at least via audio. Using initials to differentiate the speakers was clunky.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bookouture Audio, for this advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.

Where Do We Go From Here offers moments that are thought-provoking, insightful and inspiring.
Wendy has struggled immensely with the grief of her mother’s illness and death, plus the harrowing experience of working as a nurse during the COVID pandemic. Wendy is an example of how the combination of trauma, social isolation and alcohol addiction lead to a downward spiral.

The outcome for Wendy and her family leaves readers with a satisfying ending. However, this novel is quite slow paced at times and the dialogue has a very rambling, ‘waffling’ feel to it.

The audio narration kept me engaged with the story. Tone, expression, gender and accents of all characters are very well executed.

Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, for an advance audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although I appreciate what the author seemed to be trying to achieve with this story, it was a depressing and confusing slog for the vast majority of it. Simply put, it's a story about alcoholism (and COVID-19) destroying a middle class family, and although of course the book ends on a positive note, it took a lot of willpower to listen to the end. There was also the weird choice of using initials to denote speakers in most of the conversations, which was really confusing and unnecessary. The narrator did a good job despite having to read the characters' initials hundreds of times.

** Spoilers ahead **

Speaking of willpower, it felt like the MC's problems were solved through willpower alone, after a couple of uncomfortable conversations in which she seems shocked to discover for the first time that she's an alcoholic. Having known alcoholics in my lifetime, this felt really far from the reality of recognizing and overcoming addiction, and the ease with which Wendy just decides to quite drinking does a disservice to people suffering from alcoholism. There are plenty of people who think it's purely a lack of willpower that keeps people addicted, and this story seems to back up that flawed perspective. In short, the way the story played out didn't sit well with me, and I hope readers won't take Wendy as an example of the "right" way to stop drinking.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutre Audio for the complimentary ALC and the opportunity to provide an unbiased review.

This is a touching story of how Wendy, a burnt out nurse, retreats to France for space away from her job, family and life in general.
With the help of several supporting characters Wendy is forced to look at herself and reflect on the reasons behind some of her self-destructive coping strategies.
Covering themes of loss, grief, alcoholism, family dynamics and friendship the book will stay with you long after you finish it.
I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this well narrated and highly recommended audiobook.

I hate to say but I'm 30% in and I'm DNF-ing. I don't know if I'm not the correct audience but Where Do We Go From Here follows a nurse, Wendy, as she decides to quit her job and move away from her life to a french cottage for 6 months. I felt so much compassion for Wendy, she was a nurse who faced the unimaginable during the COVID pandemic but she just sat around her french cottage smoking and drinking, wishing she didn't invite her friend to visit. I cannot imagine the pressures she and her husband faced, and the toll it had on their marriage but I just found myself so uninterested.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. There were so many deeper meanings that were relatable. A fictional story with a splash of self help that I'm sure for many people can understand from their own lives or others around them. This book reveals various emotions and life changing events from the characters ranging from stress, loss, grief, alcohol abuse, to love, forgiveness, and happiness.

Wendy is a nurse during the pandemic and finds herself drinking more than usual. Her family have concerns that things are getting out of control as she isn't the same person she was, but who would be after nursing her sick mother to then having to accept her passing on in a difficult way whilst thereafter nursing many through a pandemic.

Wendy is then pushed aside by her family rather than supported as they simply don't know how to manage the ongoing issues after trying to communicate. Also, due to the pandemic it hust seems to make sense for Wendy to move out of the family home, which unfortunately isn't helpful for her emotional state at that time. During this time her brother is going through his own turmoil so he is of little support in caring for their mother however Wendy has no knowledge of his issues until later on in her recovery and only after her sabbatical trip to France where she more or less isolated herself does she begin to face herself and her problems.

When Wendy returns to the UK she works on mending her relationships with her husband Harry, her children and her brother due to her being able to accept and acknowledge her problems for herself she begins deep healing and recovery. The latter part of this story is where we see compassion, understanding, and forgiveness throughout all the family dynamics and various relationships and how important communication is. Although Wendy may have to accept the loss of friendships due to them being more based around her old self she accepts this may be a loss or just for now phase dependent on the others involved and how they move forward in life.

More so to know oneself and be able to move forward from old habits that may be used as coping strategies in order to have a happier, more fulfilling life really was a beautiful happy ending. Sometimes to get to a new better you, you have to be willing and able to let go of the old, release the past with grace, forgiveness and love and just get your feet back on the ground without outside influences.

This was well narrated so much so that at times I found certain characters irritating like why can't this be seen and understood etc so this shows how well delivered it was that the audio and writing style together had the required impact at each point. Absolutely fantastic overall and an easy, enjoyable listen about life, family dynamics, and so much more!

With thanks & gratitude to Netgalley & Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ELC in return for an open, honest review. Best wishes for publication on 23rd April 2025. 📚🎧🙏🏼❤️

A book I never knew I needed 🫶

This book is a powerful tale of redemption. Heartbreaking, uplifting, and hopeful all at once. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster.

We follow Wendy, whose life has spiraled downward, made even worse by the pandemic. Long story short, she battles her demons and comes out the other side with the unwavering support of her family, which beautifully highlights how crucial it is to have the right support system when facing struggles like Wendy’s.

I deducted one star due to the use of initials in dialogues, which isn’t a format I personally enjoy on audio. Aside from that, the story was amazing, and Eilidh Beaton’s narration was beautiful. I can’t imagine anyone else as Wendy’s voice.

Thank you Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to review this ALC! 🎧

There is a lot packed into this novel, from a woman finding herself, alcoholism, trauma, loss and healing a marriage. 6 months of solitude in a cabin in the south of France sounds idyllic, for Wendy it’s a dream come true. Everything that she wanted. That is until she truly discovers who she is and what she has been hiding. You won’t always like Wendy, yet she’s real and relatable land for that reason you will root for her, you will feel empathy for her, and you will celebrate her victories. It was heartbreaking and healing story at the same time. I love how author described that everyone always have second chance and it’s not always some magic, sometimes we can help ourselves. Accompanying someone in denial on a slow and painful journey to rock bottom is an emotional experience and the author skillfully leads us through the process. Many thanks to Bookouture Audio, the author and NetGalley - definitely recommend

I requested this book from Netgalley thinking I was in for a fun romcom, maybe with some more serious commentary about midlife and marital crises thrown in. This was not what I got but you'd be forgiven to think this should have been a fluffy uplifting book based on the synopsis and the book cover.

So, if you're looking for a light read, pass this one by. However, as long as you know your trigger warnings (please check them out, cause these abound), and are ok with reading a more serious book about (SPOILERS INCOMING) alcoholism, trauma, blocking and numbing trauma down with substance abuse, marital troubles, pandemic anxiety, the impact of the pandemic on medical staff's psyches, then this is a wonderfully written book on these topics. While there is a clear redemptive arc and post-traumatic growth, I wouldn't call this book a romantic comedy by any stretch of the imagination, so using a typical romance cartoonish book cover was extremely misleading,which was then compounded by no mention being made about the heavier topics dealt with in the synopsis.

I honestly think the writer, the book illustrator and the marketer all did a wonderful job, but it seems like they didn't coordinate about the type of book this is.

Thank you Netgalley for this ALC.

This really should’ve been a 4 🌟 for the story and the narration. There were parts that were a bit clunky and disjointed/confusing, especially the conversational pars. The use of initials for characters felt like I was privy to the script rather than hearing the end result, which was a real shame because overall the premise and the story were excellent.

6 months of solitude in a cabin in the south of France sounds idyllic, for Wendy it’s a dream come true. Everything that she wanted. That is until she truly discovers who she is.

You won’t always like Wendy, yet she’s real and relatable land for that reason you will root for her, you will feel empathy for her, and you will celebrate her victories.

A moving and poignant tale that I half expected to say was too long, but actually it gave the whole story. It gives us multiple perspectives to Wendy’s story, which we don’t always get. 3.75 🌟

Eilidh Beaton narrates beautifully.

Many thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧