Cover Image: Rules of the Road

Rules of the Road

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I realise I am very much in the minority with my review of this book, but, having been really looking forward to reading it I was very disappointed. The list of chapters at the beginning started my feeling of unease - so many and each heading so long! Then Terry the worrier irritated me and I couldn't warm to her at all, and why was she seemingly unconcerned about having to take her father out of "the rat - infested old people's home" while it was fumigated? I then also felt very strongly that Iris had taken a decision about her life that was only hers to take and should have been respected.
I'm pleased so many other readers enjoyed it though and wish the author success.
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book

Was this review helpful?

OMG I thought when I first started this book that it was going to be too sad. Whilst ultimately it does have a sad ending, the journey to get there is inspirational and uplifting. Friendship tested along the way but when it really matters they are there for each other. The new 'Me Before You'. You must read it.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this 'road novel' with a difference. The characters and situations are beautifully described, you can feel yourself with them on the ferry, in the car and in France. The reality of loving someone with Alzheimer's Disease is beautifully tender, but doesn't shirk away from the difficulties. Ultimately a middle aged coming of age story, this will draw you in and pull you along with it until the end.

Was this review helpful?

A well written book that deals with potentially hard hitting subjects, MS, anxiety, dementia and assisted end of life. I didn't really gel with any of the characters. I found Terry to be quite annoying in her worrying about worrying mode and didn't really think that a woman like her would have found herself in the situations she did. Iris knew what she wanted and wasn't going to let anyone stop her and poor old Terry's Dad with his dementia was portrayed as such a sad character. The storyline was handled sensitively throughout and gave me plenty to think about.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

I really loved this book. Such a warm friendship between Iris and Terry. I really understood Terry's motives for not wanting Iris to go to Zurich. The adventures they had together after Terry tries to hijack Iris' plans along with her aged father who is suffering from dementia...were warm, funny and full of compassion. Terry's family back home also have their own issues with her sudden disappearance. A lovely lovely book, what you want for someone.....is not always what they want or need. Highly recommend

Was this review helpful?

Rules of the Road is a heartfelt and emotional read. Terry has been married to Brendan for 25 years and has 2 grown up daughters - they all completely rely on her for everything and take her for granted. Her father has alzeimers and the home he is in is closed for a week due to mice infestation - she collects him and at the same time discovers that her friend Iris who has progressive MS goes missing and herein starts an adventure across Europe that none of them are really prepared for ! It is a funny and tragic story which I found very emotional at times . It deals with difficult and controversial matters but they are all done in a lovely way. It is also a beautiful story about friendships.

Was this review helpful?

Oh my - a real 'what would I do?' novel! I loved this book and cried at the end. Our heroine is placed in an impossible position, between her best friend and her personal beliefs, and every decision she takes is a personal moral dilemma.
The story takes us from Ireland to Switzerland and back again. It takes us from shock and grief to surprise and joy, from moments of tears to moments of laughter and all through it uplifts, brings joy and celebrates the most important things we can have in our lives, no matter how long or how short: love, friendship and the strength to follow our hearts.

Was this review helpful?

A well written but emotional story. Terry is following her friend Iris, from Ireland, Wales, England and over to France. With her Dad in tow, she is doing her best to change Iris's mind about going.
I highly recommend thisbook, but be prepared for some tears.

Was this review helpful?

An absolutely heartbreaking road trip to Switzerland with a Dad with dementia and a best friend who won’t be coming home. Bawled like a baby. This should come with a giant box of tissues as standard.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this story. As a result of this I finished the whole book in just two days. It’s a wonderful story of friendship and love between two good friends. The back story of her father who travels with them who has Alzheimer’s is well thought through and rang true to a family member of mine currently suffering with the disease. The chapters are quite short which I always enjoy especially when dipping in and out of a book. I couldn’t wait to read more and more of the story each day. From the beginning I felt really invested in the characters and story which is the mark of a good writer I believe. Heartfelt and lovely. I can’t recommend this highly enough.

Was this review helpful?

This is an unusual twist on a girls road-trip as Terry and Iris make their way from Dublin to Zurich. Having Terry's dementia-suffering Dad Eugene in tow adds an extra layer of gentle comedy. Iris is a strong character whilst Terry is the worrier who has been a stay at home mother to 2 now grown girls. You could almost call this a coming of age story about Terry. Recommended reading.

Was this review helpful?

A wonderful story of life, love , friendship and sex, whilst planning to do away with yourself.
Iris is missing. She is meant to be at a spa, celebrating her birthday, but didn't turn up. Terry, her good friend turns up at her cottage, and finds a note, stating the intention to go to Switzerland on a one way ticket, whilst she is still in control of her MS illness. Terry refuses to let Iris go gently into that dark night on her own, and drags both herself and her father, Eugene, who is suffering from Dementia, on a life affirming voyage from Ireland , Dover and onwards to the continent.
It is a crazy, mad cap journey, and all the time, you are hoping for a positive outcome. They encounter sexy French hoteliers, generous garage mechanics and many others on this Hilarious trip. The Highway Code is for cars, the rules of the road, relate to living life to the full, whilst planning to say goodbye . It relates to the degeneration of the body and wanting to maintain full control of your own personal life story.
It is a very light hearted treatment of a very intense and difficult phase of life. Iris is a marvellous person, and you both admire her determination, yet hope she will change her mind. Terry is a loyal friend, a dedicated wife and mother, whilst her own personal identity seems to be of secondary importance to her family. Eugene, her father, is hilarious, yet so sad,in his struggle with Dementia.
All three characters function best together, the group dynamics will be changed forever in Switzerland.
A thoughtful and compassionate read, with likeable characters. A story that for some people, will be so familiar, either now or in the future. A five star read, that I really related to. I will post a review to Goodreads later.

Was this review helpful?

Iris has MS and has booked herself into a euthanasia facility in Zurich. When her friend Terry finds out, she begs her not to do it but Iris is adamant. They reach a compromise, Terry will drive her there but will not try to stop her. Problem is, Terry's dad Eugene who has dementia has to come with them as his care home has had to shut.

This is a true road trip novel. We go through their journey to Switzerland with them, watching as Terry, a woman lacking in self belief tackles all sorts of problems. It's funny, sad and very wise. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

This book was amazing. The characters were wonderful and I really invested in them. Iris' journey and her friendship with Terry was so moving. Terry's relationship with her father was also beautiful. Absolutely loved it.

Was this review helpful?

This is a proper road trip with even the chapter headings giving rules for driving in different conditions. It’s a voyage of discovery and also one that reaches an end though not to the choice of all the participants. Terry is a woman at the heart of her family who thinks it will collapse without her but discovers her best friend is planning on going to Switzerland to end her life while still in control of MS. Her elderly father with dementia is with her when she decides to follow iris to persuade her to change her mind. The three unlikely companions find love, laughter and food for thought as they travel. It’s a lovely book, very real and full of wisdom. Friendship can take many forms.

Was this review helpful?

Beautifully written book that I enjoyed although the subject matter touched a few nerves and I found it very sad.

Had ‘Still Alice’ feels and I enjoyed the ride.

Was this review helpful?

A book about friendship and family all wrapped up in a car journey.
It’s not all sweetness and light though as some heartbreaking topics are covered.
Alongside this the main character/narrator begins to view her safe steady life with fresh eyes.
There were occasions in the middle of the book when my interest started to wane but I continued and soon got back into it. Overall a sensitively written book.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a beautiful read which manages to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Firstly this book has a lovely flow to it which just draws the reader into the story and you soon get swept away with the brilliant story. It’s an incredibly thought provoking read as the main character, Iris has MS and through her I learnt a lot about the condition. It was incredibly poignant to read about the impact the disease has not just on the sufferer but also on their family.

I so loved this book and found it hard to put the book down as I was so absorbed in the story. It’s a story of discovery and adventure which takes the reader through every emotion possible. I found myself crying and laughing along with the characters as they go on their journey. There are a few twists and turns along the way but the beauty of the story is definitely the wonderful characters and the emotional story who will stay with me for a long time.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

A great story that made me smile and move, poignant and heartwarming at the same time.
I rooted for the well thought characters and was hooked till the end.
it's the first book i read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Was this review helpful?

Rules of the Road tells us the story of Terry. Married for 25 years to Brendan and with 2 grown up daughters. Terry is the world's greatest catastrophic thinker, and is fastidious in her role as wife and mother, keeping an exceptionally clean home and being there for her family's every whim.

When Iris, Terry's friend, who has progressive MS, can't be located, Terry sets out to find her. With her elderly and dementia stricken father with her, she vows to be there for Iris, and ultimately finds herself along the way.

I loved this book. It is a beautiful read that'll have you equally laughing and crying. There are wonderful uniquely Irishisms in the book that anyone Irish will recognise in themselves or their own mam, for example, Terry hanging up the phone "I'd better go, yes, bye, bye, thanks, bye, bye, thanks, bye! This made me laugh so much 😂😂

Underneath the familiarity of the characters and their mannerisms, there is an underlying sad story that is so sensitively dealt with, alongside the way Eugene, Terry's dad is portrayed.

Ciara Geraghty has written a book that is fun, empowering, empathetic, uplifting yet emotional and devastating, engaging and completely compelling so that by the end you feel as though you have been on the journey yourself with characters that have somehow become your friends along the way. Loved it.

Was this review helpful?