This is touching, emotional, moving and sad as Maureen assesses herself, learns a lot and find the peace she craves in one really beautiful scene. She finds kindness and understanding in places she least expects it and the whole experience is heartwarming. I would like you to read out the directions from your phone and I will write them down on a piece of paper. I’ll take my route from that.’ ” After retirement, Queenie had settled in a small home in northern England. She liked gardening and poured all of her energies into forming a beautiful garden. After Queenie's death, it became a community memorial garden bearing homage to people's loved ones. Maureen is interested in visiting it to see a driftwood marker dedicated to David, Maureen and Harold's son. I enjoyed this every bit as much as The Love Songs of Queenie Hennessy, and rather more than The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. BTW, you will need to read the preceding two books or this will make very little sense to you.

Now it's ten years later, and time to hear from Maureen, Harold's wife. She's about to take a journey of her own and, in the mix, gives her perspective of all that's happened before and after Harold's journey to visit Queenie.

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Reduced by physical injury, Maureen has to accept the kindness and care Kate unstintingly gives. Captive in her disability, she connects with sweet little Maple, Kate’s granddaughter, and eventually, finally, Maureen comes to terms with her grief over David.

This was a satisfying way to bring closure to Harold's story. Novella length, no earth-shattering revelations, just a quiet story of a woman who tried. Our newsletter will gently land in your inbox at random intervals, bearing tidings of comfort and joy about new The Porter and the Three Ladies by Rachel Joyce: It is time for Shahrazad to tell another tale to save her life. In this story within a story, we find out that if Joe doesn't find the exclusive to satisfy his ruthless editor, he will lose his job. He finds three beautiful women in Damascus but what is the truth behind their secret life? Am I going to find out next that the gentle, kind neighbor Rex has to go through some terrible, health threatening trial before he can be happy, when I have innocently thought he was content all along. Really, what a wonderful side character Rex has been for me throughout this series. I hope Rex can live on in peace. Overall, I enjoyed this series very much but it shows me that the less I know about some people, the better. Maureen has her own issues, the main one being the loss of her and Harold's son, David. Maureen has never been able to deal with the grief of losing their son. Maureen finds out about a memorial to David at Queenie's Sea Garden. Maureen decides to take her own journey to go to this memorial and see it for herself. She is not as good with people as Harold and has difficulty on her journey. But she meets some wonderful people along the way. Her journey was remarkable.I read A LOT of books, so a few weeks after I finish one, I am often forgetting the details of story. A complex woman trying to make a reasoning out of the death of her son thirty years ago and just discovering herself is the theme of this tale. This was David. This was him. This was angry; It was violent... Too fragile for the world and yet full of youth and complication and pomp and arrogance. She did not know how such a piece of wood could have survived the wind and rain and yet, secure in Queenie's Garden, it had held fast." I’ve read all of Rachel Joyce’s books, or at least the ones I can find, and loved them all, but this is one that will stay in my heart for a long time.

What I love about this book is how vague the synopsis is, allowing readers to go in blind. It's an intensely personal journey for Maureen and you feel her pain the entire way. You realize how lost she is from herself, how out of control she feels in her life, and how different she feels from Harold and everyone else. You will get to know Maureen intimately, warts and all. I loved both The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy from this series but the final one left me feeling very disappointed. I couldn’t connect to the main character, Maureen, at all and frankly, I was quite bored sometimes while reading this one. It was very repetitive in the fact that Maureen whines and complains and gets angry over and over again. Rachel Joyce usually writes about the ordinary in an extraordinary way but this one just fell flat. Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on his epic journey on foot to save a friend. But the story doesn’t end there.Profoundly moving and deeply human, this story of self-discovery and forgiveness is essential reading. I loved every word.' Bonnie Garmus Rachel Joyce is so wise! She sees the 'essential loneliness of people' and digs into the causes of it. No matter what, they deserve respect. I am the richer for having read these books.