A little bit of a slow start and I kept putting it down thinking I won’t continue but I’m really glad that I did. Beautifully written , about family, love , loss and unlikely friendship, it’s an excellent read.

I came to this book late. The title didn't appeal, and I just didn't think it was for me. But I kept hearing people talking about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. And then I was sorry I'd left it so long.

What a lovely, warm, affirming story! And so gentle and unassuming, such a comfort. Picking up the book was like meeting with old friends.

Missy lives alone. Her children have grown up, her husband is no longer around, and she has a big house to herself.

She walks to the park one day and joins a small crowd watching the fish being taken out of a pond. She catches the eye of Angela with her young son Oti. Strangely, because they seem to have nothing in common, the two women begin a friendship and it proves the making, or the saving, of Missy.

She meets Angela for coffee, she looks after Oti, she becomes friends with Angela's friends, she looks after a dog.

And as Missy enjoys the company of good people once again, then so she begins to come to terms with her past disappointments, regrets and guilt.

Oh, it's really lovely. There are no bells and whistles, we just gently join Missy in her daily activities and listen to her thoughts and memories. It's not a book to rush, but to savour and to delight in friendship and kindness. Wonderful!

‘Saving Missy’ is the debut novel by Beth Morrey.

Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn – and terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Something wonderful. Missy was used to her small, solitary existence, listening to her footsteps echoing around the empty house, the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. After all, she had made her life her way. Now another life is beckoning to Missy – if she’s brave enough.

This book is such a tender and poignant story that made for heartwarming reading.

It’s seen from the narrative of Missy, a 78 year old woman, she lives alone with 2 grown up children, her son lives in Australia with his wife and son and her daughter lives in Cambridge. Their relationship is a bit estranged which causes Missy some upset with not having family close to her.

But on a walk to the park, she collapses and through this incident, 2 friends take her under their wings and offer friendship and company so the day isn’t as long for the lonely widow. Sylvie is a kind woman who likes to help others, Angela is a feisty Irish woman with her little boy called Otis. She looks after others and introduces Bob to Missy, a dog that needs looked after whilst her friend sorts herself. Missy underestimates the value of having a dog for company and learns to love the four legged creature and the new activities and friendship it provides.

I loved this story and the sweet characters. The story is seen solely through the narrative of Missy in the present but there are also chapters from the past explaining her background and life, which really sets the tone for the story.

At the start Missy, is quiet character who wishes to be invited to events and now with her new friends is the bell of the ball and growing in confidence and is repairing her relationship with her daughter Melanie.

A beautifully written story about new beginnings, the value of friendships and the companionship of dogs, ‘Saving Missy’ is an uplifting triumph of a debut that celebrates community kindness and second chances.

You can buy ‘Saving Missy’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Description
Sometimes it takes a lifetime to find where you truly belong…
Seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn’t it?
Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn – and terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Something wonderful.
Missy was used to her small, solitary existence, listening to her footsteps echoing around the empty house, the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. After all, she had made her life her way.
Now another life is beckoning to Missy – if she’s brave enough…
Review

A lovely warm novel to enjoy with a cup of tea, a story of friendship community and the importance of having friends.

Missey manages to rebuild her life, after the loss of her husband, she goes from being lonely, isloated, stubborn, to being included in a warm community within her immediate neighbourhood. It stresses the importance of friends, a social life and and friendship.

This is a stong debut, and i will be looking out for the next Beth Morrey novel. It leaves you feeling warm and hopeful, in the current times I think we all need a bit of that. If anything has come out of the past 12 months, it is the importance of community, friends and being able to have someone to turn to when you need support.

#savingmissey #netgalley

Review 4/5

I had heard a lot of positive things about Saving Missy and was delighted to get the opportunity to review the story. I really enjoyed the plot and quickly came to love the central character of Missy. This is a superb debut novel by Beth Morrie

In a nutshell, a warm, witty and touching book - the ideal uplifting spring read. It certainly made me go out and enjoy the spring flowers and blossom.

At its core, Saving Missy predominantly deals with loneliness and loss, topics that can be hard to read. However, Beth Morrey has done an excellent job of exploring these subjects delicately. This, coupled with themes of friendship, companionship and community spirit, ultimately make this book a positive and beautifully crafted story.

I particularly enjoyed getting to know Missy through different timeframes and the relationships she forms throughout the book. For me, this was the perfect book to mark the first year of lockdown as it undoubtedly highlighted the importance of community and kindness.

So would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely. A splendid accompaniment to a cuppa!

As a person who loves a good contemporary fiction and drama, this book was not in it for me. From the start, the book turned out to be a boring piece of fiction that I couldn't quite comprehend, and it took me a long time to read this book.

"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."

Missy Carmichael is stubborn and defensive. Grieving the loss of her husband and the family she's lost touch with, she now has the time to herself that she'd always wanted... only to find that it's very lonely and it wasn't what she expected at all. She spends her days sat grumpily in her empty house, judging her neighbours and avoiding everyone.

After a chance encounter in the park with single mum Angela and her young son Otis, Missy strikes up an unlikely friendship, eventually leading to the realisation that the local neighbours are not at all what she imagined. As her newfound friends help Missy to rebuild her life and find her feet, she learns that maybe she shouldn't have judged them all so harshly to begin with.

Saving Missy is a wonderful and heartwarming debut novel about transformation, friendship and second chances, I really enjoyed it.

This book filled up my heart! This had female friendships, complicated relationships with children and going through the life and the incidents that happened with Missy in the past

Millicent aka Missy was such beautifully carved character that you understood where she came from and why she is the way she is

Saving Missy represents every woman’s life who gives everything that she has to her family,to her husband and never asks any questions.

The writer takes us back to Missy’s past now and then to make us understand who is Missy and where she comes from

The story telling really keeps you intrigued and introduce you some quirky and fun characters in the narrative to keep the story alive and going.

If you like women fiction and if you for once want to read about the life of an old woman,then this book is for you.

Missy is a 79-year old woman who is prickly, stubborn and terribly lonely. Until one day on a walk to a lake in the park, she has a chance encounter with two women, who gives Missy a chance to experience something new and wonderful again.

With her husband and children out of reach and having gotten used to life alone, will Missy be brave enough to try this new life?

I immediately warmed to the story and to the characters. While Missy is grumpy and difficult to deal with, she embodies all that is relatable with respect to her sense of loneliness, lack of community support and sense of belonging, as well as dealing with past loss and grief that Missy has never fully unpacked and accepted.

It’s beautiful to witness the kindness that Missy receives when meeting Sylvie and Angela - these friendships help Missy to unpick her past life; we get to explore all the different relationships Missy has encountered that have not all been rosy - strained relationship with her daughter, Melanie, feelings of abandonment by her son who moves to Australia with his wife, absence of her grandchild, Arthur, as a result, and the complicated love and relationship with her husband. We really see who Missy was and has become, and how she can change to be someone she likes and can be happy with - with the help of her friends and of course, a wonderful dog, Bobby, who becomes her trusted companion.

It’s so refreshing to read a story with an older protagonist too and really get under the skin of someone who has lived for so many decades experiencing life’s ups and downs.

Truly touching story, which is full of kindness and compassion. In current times with the global pandemic, this book really sheds a light on loneliness and how we can help each other with kind words, coffee catch ups, walks in the park. Perfect read to uplift your mood!

Plot: This Seventy-nine is too late for a second chance isn't it?

Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn - & terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Something wonderful...

An absolutely wonderful debut! An engaging plot, a rollercoaster of emotions & a plot twist I didn't see coming, it ticked all the boxes for me. Overall it carries with it a celebration of community & kindness that we could all do with a lot more of in the real world.

"Men & women, women & women, mothers & sons, even old ladies & dogs. Love was just love, that was all. Flawed, uneven, complicated, overlapping, but still essential."

People: Missy starts off as a prickly, stubborn character who you don't much like but the more read, the more you gradually peel the layers to see what lies beneath the more she worms her way into your heart.

There is a fabulous bunch of supporting characters all charming & unique in their own ways. I especially liked Missy's unlikely friend Angela she made me chuckle on more than one occasion.

Pace: This is a medium-paced read, packed with emotion from laughing to crying. It leaves you feeling hopeful & uplifted. I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled to see what Morrey gets up to next!

Disclaimer: A huge thanks to Harper Collins UK & Anne Cater for sending me this title. All opinions are my own.

This book 😍 you just cannot help but fall in love with Missy. When we first meet her she is a bit grumpy and standoffish but who can blame her? Missy is lonely, her son and grandson live in Australia visiting only at Christmas and her daughter, although not as far away in miles, have never had a strong relationship. Missy's fate changes one day when she takes a walk to the local park and spots a little boy who is the same age as her grandson. Observing them read a sign she gets caught up, along with other park goers, in the action of watching the transferring of fish from one lake to another. Suddenly Missy faints and finds herself laying on the floor being watched over by a lady and her two dogs. The lady, called Sylvie chats away freely to Missy and introduces her to some regular park users. Over the course of a few weeks Missy has befriended Sylvie, Angela and her little boy Otis and they become just the company she has been craving. As more doors of opportunity are opened up to Missy she finds herself doing things that she never has had the courage to do before.

What I particular love about this book is the dual timeline where we see a younger Missy and discover more about her dreams, love and family relationships. Having always put her husband Leo and her family first we suddenly see a Missy that can take risks and open her heart to let others in. Her story is heartwarming and endearing. I adored the characters in the story and how their acts of kindness and caring personalities saved an old lady from being lonely. If you love character driven novels then this is a must read. I laughed, I cried and I cried some more as I sat up until the early hours of the morning pouring over Missy's story. Morrey takes you on a journey of discovery with her fictional character Missy and leaves you feeling emotionally connected to life. A real gem of a book that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Missy is a 79 year old living alone after losing her husband. She is estranged from her daughter and her son and grandson live in Australia. Her life has become stagnant and dull.

After bumping in to a couple of spirited women, a little boy who reminds her of her grandson and a couple of crazy dogs, Missy starts to feel a spring in her step and is welcomed in to the community.

I found this book to be slow in places, particularly the first third where we meet Missy and learn about her past. At times I struggled with Missy's nature and had to remind myself that I was reading from an older perspective than my own.

The rest of the book is warm and hopeful. Missy realises that at 79 she isn't yet too old and slowly she creeps out of her shell and learns to live once more.

Missy was a hard character to love. Depressed. Alone. Closed off to the world and those around her. However, I was glad to see she softened and opened up over time.

I've seen Saving Missy compared to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I do find them very similar. If you loved Eleanor, give Missy a go.

"So the day ended as miserably as it began. But I still felt it somewhere — that spark. The beginning of something. Or the end. Who knows?"

Saving Missy is a story exploring loneliness, human connection, letting go and learning to live again. When we meet Missy she is rattling around her big house all alone and has no real connections with anyone other than her emails and skype calls to her son and grandson in Australia. After fainting in the park she is taken under the wing of Sylvie and Angela, two vivacious women who, much to Missy’s surprise, seem to want to be her friend. The pair open up a new world to Missy full of exciting opportunities, friendship and happiness that she isn’t sure she deserves after the things she’s done. Can Missy let go of the past and embrace life?

I first encountered Missy when I read a sampler of the story before its release in early 2020. I quickly fell in love with Missy and the world the author had created and have been frustrated at not being able to find the time to finish reading it ever since. So when the opportunity to take part in the blog tour for the paperback release arose I jumped at the chance, eager to finally enjoy the rest of Missy’s story. And I’m so glad I did.

"The first photo summed me up, mostly, but the second had exposed my other self, the tiny part of me that could laugh like that. I wanted to poke my way into that part... and open it up so that it overwhelmed the stiffness and self-consciousness and all the other weaknesses I despised. To be that relaxed, animated woman, put her on display and leave the other stuffed away."

Missy Carmichael is a wonderful protagonist. She is a cantankerous old lady who, despite her hard, bristly and defensive exterior, was someone I soon had a soft spot for. She is deeply flawed, awkward, lonely and worries constantly what others think. She has also spent most of her life not saying the things she desperately wanted to and seems to have lived her life for others, mostly her husband Leo who she is now lost without. She has no real relationship with her daughter Melanie since a fight the year before and her adored son Alistair and grandson Arthur live in Australia, something she is deeply bitter about. While her resentment towards her eldest child and daughter in law was hard to stomach at times it made her a more real character. I also liked that she often recognised her flaws, even if she doesn’t always try to change them.

A vital part of understanding Missy comes from the flashbacks that are woven into the narrative. These flashbacks show the reader important moments in her life that have shaped her and help us to understand the different facets of her character. It is in these chapters that the author brings Leo to life, albeit from Missy’s perspective. It is impossible to not be shaped by a relationship that spanned almost six decades so I think this was a critical part of the story that really opened our eyes to why Missy is the woman we meet in the present day.

"The idea that these vibrant, diverting women wanted to spend time with me was as gratifying as the gift of the dog bed. I'd never really had female friends before."

The supporting cast of characters are just as riveting and richly drawn as Missy and I particularly loved the dynamics of her friendship with Sylvie and Angela. As she slowly allowed them into her heart and home I enjoyed seeing her experience female friendship for the first time in her life and the impact it had on her. We began to see a softer side to her, particularly in her interactions with her adopted dog Bobby and Otis, Angela’s four-year-old son. The author took Missy on a compelling adventure and it was amazing to see the bravery and joy she showed in the latter parts of the story. It is a reminder of how important human connection is in life, that it is never too late to grab life by the horns or to change and make amends for your mistakes.

Charming, thought-provoking, wistful and uplifting, Saving Missy is a wonderful debut. I got lost in its pages as the author took me on an unforgettable journey. In our current climate its message of the importance of human connection couldn’t be more timely and is a great reminder to reach out to others in any way we can. Everyone should read this book.

Ah dear Missy, she really made me sad at the beginning of this book, her son lives in Australia with her Grandson and she really misses them. Her beloved husband Leo has passed away and she has also had a falling out with her daughter Mel. So she finds herself alone…..

She is in the park one afternoon when she has a funny turn and when she comes around and two younger women are helping her. One is called Sylvie and the other Angela they both realise that she is lonely but Missy will not accept it. She lives in a big house alone,and she does not think that they know anything about her, which they don’t really at this point. Then Angela asks her to look after a dog Bob, that belongs to a friend of hers who is having a bad time. Missy thinks it’s a ridiculous idea then she has a change of heart after a break in at her home and Bob comes to stay. Missy finds that just getting out of the house with Bob gets her chatting to people she never would have previously. Her friendship with Sylvie and Angela grows and they start to become part of her life.

Missy goes back over her life and how she met Leo and her life before Leo at University and it is clear that Missy very much was her own woman and knew what she wanted, but life did not turn out the way she thought it would, this second chance with these two young woman change her life.

This is a gorgeous book about loneliness and unlikely friendships and being kind. I loved Missy she is funny and astute don’t be fooled by her age she has her head firmly on her shoulders. It’s funny , magical, sad, nostalgic and uplifting. I really loved it and I couldn’t put it down, its a really wonderful story.

5 Stars *****

Thank you to Anne Cater for the invitation to the tour and to Harper Collins for my e copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.

Absolutely loved this story of an unlikely heroine: prickly, introverted, seventy-nine year old Missy. Alone with no friends, separated from her beloved son and grandson in Australia, somewhat estranged from her disconnected daughter and suffering the loss of her husband Leo. She has lived her whole life for her husband and children despite being a talented Oxford undergraduate, she has lived in her husband's shadow, a loyal Argos to his Odysseus, An even more unlikely fish stunning event in the park brings her together with colourful Angela and Sylvie who take her under their wing and break down her stoic barriers with the help of little Otis and Bob the dog who introduce her to a whole new world. The book is told partly retrospectively, uncovering parts of Missy's early childhood, student years, marriage and motherhood and giving us a glimpse into her secrets. At times I was exasperated by Missy's behaviour and the way she pushed people, especially her daughter away but she was a wonderful character (I see Sheila Hancock!). I couldn't put it down and was sad to see the final page. More Missy please...

I absolutely adored this heartwarming, thought provoking book which I know will stay with me for a long time. I think I will be recommending this book to everyone as I think its a book everyone should read.

As I might have mentioned one or twice I love books that allow the reader to follow one character throughout their lives, living every moment of their lives alongside them. This book was no exception and I really enjoyed learning more about Missy who I challenge everyone not to fall in love with. Her story is one fun of high’s and lows which the reader gets to experience alongside her as if they are actually there experiencing everything with her. I found myself laughing and crying as I read about her fascinating life.

Missy’s relationship with 4 year old Sylvie was just beautiful to read about and I so enjoyed seeing how it changed Missy for the better. She really seems to discover herself and what she wants from her remaining years through her interactions with Sylvie which was so lovely! After a life of doing what everyone else wanted her to do it was amazing to see her start to do things for herself for once.

This story just drew me in from the first page and I soon found myself absorbed into the story. When I wasn’t reading I was constantly thinking about the character and wondering how the story would develop. The author takes us on a real rollercoaster of emotions throughout the book and I loved going on the journey. The ending was beautiful and just so well written I felt myself completely relaxing into the story as I read. I felt very sad to end the book and leave all the characters behind.

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

The story of Missy’s current, rather empty daily life is interspersed with memories of her first meeting with her husband, Leo, at Cambridge in 1956, their subsequent marriage and their life together bringing up their son, Alistair and daughter, Melanie. For various reasons, Missy now finds herself living alone in her ‘barren old house’. As she recalls, ‘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.’ That silence and stillness is ended thanks to a chance encounter in her local park with the irrepressible Sylvie which sees Bob the dog come into Missy’s life, opening up a whole new world of connections, including a new friend, Angela, and Angela’s son Otis.

The book is full of lovely touches of humour, such as Missy’s thoughts on the reading of poetry aloud (the occasion of her first meeting with Leo), ‘Like religion and Bongo Boards, best practised in private’. Or Bob’s habit of barking when anyone approaches the house, making her (yes, Bob is a she) ‘less of a guard dog and more of a very loud doorbell’. I also loved the description of the numerous objects in Missy’s attic as ‘the leftovers of lost lives’.

The book has some wonderful set pieces, such as Missy’s participation in a pub quiz team at which the prize, much to Angela’s delight, includes a signed Jeremy Corbyn colouring book (this is 2016 after all), and a dash across London in the quest for the perfect birthday cake, facilitated by Sylvie’s seemingly inexhaustible list of contacts. Perhaps my favourite was the Christmas Day party at Sylvie’s house, to which Missy reluctantly accepts an invitation, reminding me a little of when Scrooge finally accepts his nephew’s invitation to join their festivities in A Christmas Carol. Looking around at Sylvie interacting with her guests, Missy realises that, although filled with happiness for much of the time, her life with Leo was rather insular. ‘We existed in our own bubble, floating along without ever really being bothered enough to probe deeper or – heaven forbid – pierce our protective film.’ Missy comes to recognise that it’s people who truly like themselves who have the greatest capacity for friendship and that this involves letting others in and accepting help when it’s offered.

I’m sure I won’t be the only reader to fall in love with Missy. Not that she’s perfect or hasn’t made mistakes in her life. However, I felt she had a tendency to undersell herself. For example, she’s thoughtful and generous when it comes to choosing gifts for others and has a natural rapport with children. For me, the discovery of the true extent of Missy’s courage and devotion created the perfect ending to the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I do love this book. Poor Missy. A domineering husband. A daughter she has fallen out with. A son and grandson who have emigrated to Australia. And a large empty house full of memories and loneliness.

Missy worshipped her husband Leo. A famous academic author, handsome and respected. Maybe not always faithful we suspect. Missy herself obtained a first class degree in Classics from Cambridge, but she gave it all up to be a mother, a housewife and to take care of Leo. But that’s what women did in the 1950s and 60s.

Often told in flashbacks or letters, we learn a lot about Missy’s early life, her mum and dad, Aunt Sibby who kept chickens, gave them names, but still rung their necks and cooked them. And granddad Fa-Fa who told stories and grandmother Jette who sewed things that she never loved.

Then one day Missy meets Sylvie and her friend Angela, and her life is changed forever. Angela has a son Otis, who reminds Missy of her grandson Arthur, who she misses dreadfully, even though they are nothing like each other apart from being the same age. But what really changes her life is when Angela asks her to look after a dog. The dog is called Bob even though she is a girl. It’s from Blackadder she tells her. Missy has never seen Blackadder. The dog will only be there till her owner finds a new home away from her abusive husband. Bob soon becomes Bobby (less explaining) and Missy becomes part of a community of dog owners, who take her under their wing.

It’s hard to put into words how emotional this book is at times. Especially at a time when we are all already emotional. I laughed and I cried and then I cried some more. At one point my tears were falling onto my scampi and chips, while I sipped a small sherry in honour of Missy’s tipple of choice. This is not a book about twists, but there are even a few surprises in store. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours.

Saving Missy is such an uplifting delight – full of warmth, friendship and dogs, it is definitely a must read! Oh and by the way I’m not the only person to love this book. First published in hardback in February 2020, Saving Missy became a Sunday Times bestseller.

Let me tell you all about Missy and why she needs saving…

Oh and who it is that tries to save her…

Missy is what some would refer to as a ‘cantankerous old woman’ – at 79, she is prickly and with no friends and family around; she is also very lonely. Having recently lost her husband Leo, and her beloved son and grandson living in Australia, she seems to have no one. Her daughter Mel is not that far away but their relationship has always been fractious. Furthermore Missy is haunted by a recent argument she and Mel had, specifically the horrible words she said to her daughter.

Ever since she met Leo at University over sixty years ago, Missy always put him and his career first; sacrificing her own career and own needs. Now she only has her memories and an empty house. Even though she has lived in Stoke Newington for over half a century, she knows no one in her neighbourhood and has no friends.

Missy is lonely and lost. She also has a big secret that has scarred her life and her relationships.

That is until Sylvie and Angela bound into her life. Although to be fair, I think Angela – brash and opinionated – does more pushing than bounding. For me Angela is a ‘grower’ – at the beginning of the novel I was unsure about her, by the end I absolutely loved her!

And then there is the relationship with Bobby, a dog Missy grudgingly adopts. Missy and Bobby’s relationship is beautiful and for me, the true heart of the novel.

As Missy’s defences slowly come down, her heart begins to open and a newfound courage to live a life on her own terms starts to take root. Yet with change in the air, haunted by heart breaking guilt and fresh worries refusing to be ignored, Missy does not feel she deserves these new chances. Hence are they truly in her grasp?

Be prepared to be uplifted but also be prepared to cry – there are a few emotional twists along the way. But believe me, this is a book that is sure to warm your heart.

Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour to help publicise the paperback release of Saving Missy, which was published Harper Collins on 4th March. So it’s available for you all now to buy!