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Saving Missy Hardcover – February 20, 2020

by Beth Morrey (Author)

4.4 5,137 ratings

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The world has changed around Missy Carmichael. At seventy-nine, she's estranged from her daughter; her son and only grandson live across the world in Australia; and her great love is gone. Missy spends her days with a sip of sherry, scrubbing the kitchen in her big empty house and reliving her past--although it's her mistakes, and secrets, that she allows to shine brightest. The last thing Missy expects is for two perfect strangers and one spirited dog to break through her prickly exterior and show her just how much love she still has to give.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (February 20, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008334021
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008334024
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.26 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 1.38 x 8.94 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,595,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23,429 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #30,299 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #100,613 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 5,137 ratings

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Beth Morrey

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I’m a TV producer by trade. For a long time, I worked in development where I created quizzes, documentary formats and reality shows.

I’ve been trying to write a novel since my early 20s, when I wrote a spin-off of Mary Poppins, called Sister Suffragette, which was all about Winifred Banks’ adventures when she wasn’t at home singing. It’s probably for the best that it’s still in a drawer somewhere.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael is my first full-length novel, and I wrote it on maternity leave, inspired by the people I met while I was walking my dog in the park.

In my spare time I enjoy running, cooking curries, and reading the entire internet when I should be sleeping.

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4.4 out of 5

5,137 global ratings

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Jo-Ann Dolan

book was well written and well received by my book club.

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020

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I loved Missy right from the start and up until she visited Leo close to the end. Being a 24/7 caregiver for my husband I could not understand why Missy did not take care of him. She was able and strong enough....she wouldn't have had the money problems if she cared for him......there were other solutions and she wouldn't have been so lonely and so upset ab out money....

2 people found this helpful

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Steph Warren

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for an entertaining, emotional read.

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2020

*I received a free ARC of this novel, with thanks to the author, Harper Collins UK and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Saving Missy begins with aching, desolate loneliness, which a reader cannot help but feel is at least partially self-inflicted, as prickly, unhappy Missy trudges painfully through her small and isolated life actively repelling any humans who attempt to reach out to her.

Slowly, slowly, as Missy’s neighbours persist in their overtures and her prickly exterior begins to slowly unfurl, the tone changes. The story becomes warmer and more hopeful, and Missy’s character opens up and blooms into a fully-realised, individual – braver, bolder, still flawed, but willing to connect again, open her heart to others again.

There are mysteries that are deliberately withheld from the reader and teased out through flashbacks, hints and reminiscences as Missy takes us back and forth between her younger years and current older age. What did she say to her daughter that was so unforgivable? What is the dark secret from her youth? These (and more) are built up gradually, layer-on-layer, then sprung on the reader like the drop at the top of a rollercoaster.

Most of the excitement and suspense here lies not in the action – the story chronicles a relatively uneventful year in the life of one “old lady”. The investment is in the characters: how they develop, how they relate to each other and their interactions, big and small. Sylvie, Angela and Otis, and Bobby and the other side characters are all wonderfully realised, believable and engaging, and I came to care about every one of them by the end of the book.

This is a heartbreakingly sad story about human isolation and loneliness, guilt and bereavement, but it is also a heartwarmingly touching story about kindness, forgiveness and second chances at life. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for an entertaining, emotional read.

The magic doesn’t stop the worst happening. The worst happens all the time, every day. And then life goes on. And you just hang on and hope that you can keep whatever crumbs and tiny white teeth are left.

– Beth Morrey, Saving Missy

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2020

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Heartwarming story - important at this time in understanding the effectiveness of community and kindness and love. How important we can be in each other's lives.

3 people found this helpful

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Les

A must read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2020

Heartwarming.

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2020

Missy is a 78 year old woman who lives alone, having lost her husband. She has two adult children but her son lives overseas and her relationship with her daughter is strained. This is a story about how she gradually opens herself up to making new friends and how the acquisition of a dog helps change her life. But it's not as straightforward a story as that suggests. Yes it has a feel good element but it's not a linear progression and the ending is bittersweet.

I was expecting a variation on The Lido, with the substitution of a dog for a swimming pool. I was pleased that it was more nuanced and interesting than that. Missy is a flawed character and as we learn her life story we learn some of the reasons for those flaws. The book lures you into making assumptions about things and then dashing those assumptions. It's a very satisfying book which I liked very much.

2 people found this helpful

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Jude Livingston

Saved by her community

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2020

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Missy is an old women who doesn’t let people in easterly. This is the story of a community that Missy became part of and who saved her.

A lovely tale of how people become a family.

Three and a half stars.

2 people found this helpful

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Jo Fergus

This story was a highlight to the beginning of 2020 for me.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2020

Missy is 79 years old and lives alone in the family home she lived in with her husband. He is now gone and so have her adult kids that they raised there. It no longer looks or feels like a home. It is now just a house. She is lonely. She is very alone. She is existing.

‘Such crushing silence. It seemed like my whole life had been a cacophony, a constant buzzing and background chatter, and then Leo went and there was suddenly total and absolute stillness. Stillness, and silence and space. What I’d supposedly craved all those years, and it was the worst, most cloying thing I’d ever experienced.’

After an encounter with the vivacious Angela and her son Otis, Missy reluctantly finds herself with a new friend. The circle begins to grow a little bit more with the addition of Sylvie and eventually the thing that truly gives her a reason to keep going every day, a lovely dog to care for called Bobby. All of a sudden Missy feels less lonely. She wasn’t looking for any of this but it seemed to find her, filling places in her that were closed off.

The story flicks from the present and back into the past as we get glimpses into her marriage and childhood memories. After all, we are all products of our past and delving into Missy’s definitely gives context to the person she is today. As a wife and mother, she made a lot of sacrifices at the expense of her own personal happiness. She put everyone else first which often left her with feelings of resentment towards her husband. She never really pursued her own dreams. While her husband shined in the spotlight of his career success, she blended into the background, keeping everything at home on an even keel.

‘Mama would never have given up a career to run a household. She marched to the beat of her own drum, whereas I seemed to listen out for everyone else’s.’

To the outsider Missy is a bit off-hand and gruff. She is not easy to like but once people get to know her you will see past her stand off exterior and the true person she is. Her home now feels less lonely and her days are filled with things she looks forward to. She also begins to reflect on her relationship with her children and finds the courage to mend a few bridges.

Along the way we learn of the struggles she has with one of her children, things she kept from her husband and secrets he thought he kept from his intuitive wife. This is a story about sacrifice, friendship, love and laughter. And plenty of bottles of prosecco. The awakening of Missy and she reclaims the life she has left now. I have a couple of lovely friends who are in their 70’s so I could totally picture all the times these ladies shared a bottle of wine together.

This story was a highlight to the beginning of 2020 for me. A great reminder that you are never too old and it’s never too late to do new things.

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Moksha

A heartwarming read

Reviewed in India on June 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book has truly been one of my best reads. I fell in love with all the characters and especially how Missy's character unfolds. It is a well written novel and most certainly a heartwarming read!!

Terence

A very enjoyable read.

Reviewed in Germany on August 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

Really enjoyed it. Makes you realise we should grab life with both hands and form new friendships, Improves your outlook on life.

faysieh

Perfect reading, emotional, intelligent, uplifting. A joy to meet such a wonderful character

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

Missy Carmichael is a complicated 79 year old, living alone in a huge house with many memories but no company. With a son and grandson in Australia and a daughter in Cambridge she is estranged from, Missy is a sad figure, and at times an unlikeable one with her very sharp tongue. And yet there is something about Missy which pulls the reader closer to her, warming to her as her reminiscences unfold to tell a tale of great love, loss and sacrifice.
Purely by chance, on a park bench, she meets two very different women who already know one another. Sylvie and Angela, and by default Angela's son Otis.
Meet Bob/Bobby the dog and all the other dog walkers who could potentially be the beginning of the end to Missy's loneliness.
This is an intelligent, poignant and bittersweet read which is ultimately uplifting. It had me smiling, sighing, surreptitiously wiping the odd tear away and completely losing the emotional plot where Leo is concerned.
None of this will make much sense, but I cannot reveal the delicate, interweaving plot, combining the past and the present as it spies a pathway into the future, AND I want the cryptic references to make you READ the book!
So save a spot in your spare time to Saving Missy and be prepared to lose yourself in a book that comes highly recommended. It won't be time wasted!
Thank you to Beth Morrey, Netgalley and Pigeonhole for making this book available to read, enjoy and review.

3 people found this helpful

Sara Oliver

Loved this book. Sensitive and funny and moving.

Reviewed in Australia on August 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

I’ve summed it up above.

Sera Mair

Unput-downable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

I was gripped from start to finish by this heartwarming tale - even considering the poignant moment of Bobby the dog.

I'm now looking forward to reading more by Ms Morrey

One person found this helpful

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