Sometimes ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference . . .
Meet Gracie. At mid-life she's fed up with her unhappy marriage and humdrum career, so when a new housing estate threatens to sever the last connection to her late father, the oak tree he planted as a child, she decides to take a stand – only, Gracie has never stood up to anyone.
When five-year-old neighbour Tilly unexpectedly bounds into her life, she shows Gracie that you shouldn't always take no for an answer. Despite revelations of long-buried family secrets and conflicts taking root, perhaps this could be the beginning of a new chapter, one in which Gracie finally discovers her inner strength and realises that even in the face of loss, there is hope.
Full of warmth and joyful community, this is the uplifting story of one woman's journey towards letting go of the past and creating memories worth holding onto . . .
Readers LOVE Abigail Johnson:
'It's not often that a book can make me cry, but this one definitely did'
'Both heart-wrenching and happy a rollercoaster of emotions'
'Very moving'
'Heart-warming with some genius touches of humour'
'Really made you feel like you knew the characters. Loved it'
'The best book I have read for ages' Abigail Johnson is a writer from the West Midlands. Her first novel, The Secret Collector, was written while completing the Curtis Brown Creative three-month novel writing course, where she was tutored by author Laura Barnett. It was longlisted for the 2021 and 2022 Bath Novel Award. Her writing has also been longlisted for the Exeter Novel Award and shortlisted for the 2021 Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award, and she was a Friday Night Live finalist at the Festival of Writing in 2017. Uplit novel from Bath Novel Award longlisted author, Abigail Johnson. For fans of Evie Woods, Sally Page's The Keeper of Stories and Mike Gayle.
