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sarahannereadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The protagonist is Meredith Maggs, a 39 year old Glaswegian who has not left her home in 1214 days. However, Meredith still functions rather well as long as she is in her own home. She keeps busy working from home, exercising, cooking/baking, completing jigsaw puzzles and has her cat Fred for company. Socially she communicates with an online support group, speaks to a psychologist weekly and she is regularly visited by her oldest friend Sadie and her two children
Near the beginning of the book we get to witness Meredith's circle growing as she starts having weekly visits from Tom McDermot, who works with the Holding Hands Charity. She also develops a closer relationship with Celeste, one of the people she talks to in her online support group and who she invites to her home to meet face to face. She is also introduced to a ten year old neighbour when he knocks on her door one day. All of these new people in her life care about Meredith very much and are very helpful to her in trying to turn her life around.
Meredith also has a small family, which include her sister and mother, but due to an unfortunate and traumatic event in her past, they do not visit. We slowly learn what this traumatic event was and about Meredith's not so easy upbringing, as the book is written with multiple timelines. We also discover that this event was the catalyst to Meredith's agoraphobia.
This is essentially a story about a woman who has a painful past and has become a recluse in order to feel safe and cope with the trauma. As the story progresses we follow her struggles with anxiety, depression and her attempts at taking back control over her life.
Meredith, Alone is a beautiful slower paced book and I throughly enjoyed and was encouraged by Meredith's story. There is so much character developement throughout the book, not just for the main character but for the majority of the characters, even the not so nice ones. I also really appreciated how supportive, understanding and patient Meredith's friends are. It was so refreshing.
There are many difficult issues discussed in this book including mental health, domestic abuse, parental neglect, mental abuse and sexual abuse but I felt this was handled very respectfully by the author and was done well. But please be aware of these as potential triggers.
Overall an excellent book, that I feel deserves more attention and to be talked about a lot more. This book is not necessarily an easy read and there are plenty of up and downs throughout, but I think the author handled this extremely well and still manages to keep the book hopeful and uplifting.
Near the beginning of the book we get to witness Meredith's circle growing as she starts having weekly visits from Tom McDermot, who works with the Holding Hands Charity. She also develops a closer relationship with Celeste, one of the people she talks to in her online support group and who she invites to her home to meet face to face. She is also introduced to a ten year old neighbour when he knocks on her door one day. All of these new people in her life care about Meredith very much and are very helpful to her in trying to turn her life around.
Meredith also has a small family, which include her sister and mother, but due to an unfortunate and traumatic event in her past, they do not visit. We slowly learn what this traumatic event was and about Meredith's not so easy upbringing, as the book is written with multiple timelines. We also discover that this event was the catalyst to Meredith's agoraphobia.
This is essentially a story about a woman who has a painful past and has become a recluse in order to feel safe and cope with the trauma. As the story progresses we follow her struggles with anxiety, depression and her attempts at taking back control over her life.
Meredith, Alone is a beautiful slower paced book and I throughly enjoyed and was encouraged by Meredith's story. There is so much character developement throughout the book, not just for the main character but for the majority of the characters, even the not so nice ones. I also really appreciated how supportive, understanding and patient Meredith's friends are. It was so refreshing.
There are many difficult issues discussed in this book including mental health, domestic abuse, parental neglect, mental abuse and sexual abuse but I felt this was handled very respectfully by the author and was done well. But please be aware of these as potential triggers.
Overall an excellent book, that I feel deserves more attention and to be talked about a lot more. This book is not necessarily an easy read and there are plenty of up and downs throughout, but I think the author handled this extremely well and still manages to keep the book hopeful and uplifting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
greyt_things's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
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