The book is about Mabel Beaumont. She finds herself a widow after 62 years of marriage to her husband Arthur. During their marriage, he would make various lists – go to the grocery store, etc. She finds a list after he passes and one item on it is – Find D. She has no idea what that could mean.
She spends a lot of time thinking about the past, both the good times and bad, and what may have been. As she’s lamenting her life, she wonders if D means her old friend Dot whom she lost touch with in her 20s. She ends up befriending a group of women throughout that help her in her search for Dot, as well as in her new life as a widow.
I listened to the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator performed Mabel in a way that reminded me of my own grandmother. She had lived through WWII and definitely had that “let’s get on with it; have a cup of tea and that will make things better” mind set. So in my mind’s eye, Mabel looked like her.
I won’t spoil how her search for Dot ends and what D refers to on the list, but both were different than I had expected.
As one book reviewer wrote “Pearson tackles some really challenging issues, from infidelity to homophobia and child loss, yet never does this in a gratuitous or over-dramatic way.” I was honestly surprised at the backlash on goodreads to the “hidden agenda” of the author to sneak those topics into the story. I suppose that I’m pretty open minded about letting others live their own lives so it didn’t occur to me that there would be an issue.
So if you’re looking for a beautiful, sad, and hopeful book about a recent widow as she starts her new life – I’d recommend this one. And listening to it would be a plus.
by winnieismydog