I very much enjoyed this beautifully written memoir-style book. Following a protracted period of serious illness, Kathleen Hart moves to Wigtown in Scotland and writes about restarting her life there. Having read and loved Shaun Bythell's books, I felt familiar with Wigtown despite never having been. However with her sea swimming, bee keeping and other activities, Kathleen put a new spin on it all. Moving, heartfelt and honest, this is a lovely read.

This is just a wonderful book. It made my heart sing.
This is story of a person who has been through the mill and is coming out the other side.
Kathleen has been through so much and after her marriage ends and she has been through a lot of medical procedures she decides to up sticks and go and live in a little village in Scotland to recover and start over. She wants a simpler life with less stress.

This not a book about ‘oh woe is me’ it’s an extremely uplifting, funny and warm book about everyday life and it’s little twists and turns. It’s about growth and finding who you want to be when your world changes. It’s about reassessing what’s important and not needing designer handbags anymore to make you happy.

I love the description of the village [Wigtown], the local people, her swimming in the sea every day, her cottage etc.

I do hope there is a second book to keep us update of what’s going on with her and Wigtown.

This book has sat in my Netgalley list for around a year before I finally got around to reading it. I was initially drawn to it because of the description - a story about a woman who makes a brand new life for herself in a peaceful place by the sea and discovers lots about herself in the process. But somehow I also wasn't sure if I would actually like the book.

I loved it.

Descriptions such as "life-affirming" usually sound off-putting to me, but that's what this book is. Kathleen, having survived breast cancer, serious infections and various other horrendous illnesses, has moved by herself to a remote part of Scotland to a small, basic cottage in Wigtown named Devorgilla.

The book is the story of why she did this, how she rebuilt a life and what she learned in the process.

It is a life pared back to what really matters. Kathleen spends most of her days quite simply. She swims in the sea as much as she can, relishing how the water seems to help restore her body. She visits community shops and cafes and has friendly chats to others living in the area. She joins groups that do all kinds of things but often the main benefit of them is the friendly chat and companionship she gets as a result.

The fishermen drop her lobsters at her cottage. Everyone looks out for each other. At one point she describes being startled at how people "borrow" each other's cars if they need to - leading to cars unlocked being left all over the place.

Basically the book makes you want to move to Wigdown, live in Devorgilla cottage, and live exactly as Kathleen does.

There are lots of parts of the book where you want to write down the words. On Kathleen's birthday her daughter gives her a journal and writes in it, "Some of the best days of your life haven't happened yet."

On another day she's travelling with another friend who has been to see a play about Quentin Crisp and quotes a line that he liked, "So discover who you are. And be it. Like mad!"

This is a book that makes you feel happier to be in the world and reminds you of what really matters. I would have read it forever! And will be buying copies for friends and relatives.

What starts as a gruelling story of illness quickly morphs into a tale of recovery and new beginnings. It will make just about everyone want to up-sticks and more to the countryside to immerse themselves in the healing power of nature and the supportiveness of community.

To read about such inner strength in the face of so much illness and suffering was truly inspiring. The decision to move to Wigtown was very brave and, thanks to the kindness and friendliness of the local people, was a decision to change that really paid off. Human kindness is there if you look for it in a time of need.

This is an extremely inspiring and thought provoking read. It is an account of Kathleen Hart's experiences after years of serious and life threatening illness. Kathleen sold her home and moved to Wigtown in Scotland to start her life in a different setting with different priorities to those she had before her cancer diagnosis.

I don't want to go into too much detail about this book and I definitely will not critique this book in any way. It is a raw, honest and at times, difficult read. I felt extremely immersed into Kathleen's story and the descriptions of Wigtown were just extraordinary.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

What a beautifully wriiten book almost like a diary in acknowledging the passing of time andseasons. It begins when Kathleen hart on a whim, moves hundreds of miles north to a cottage in Wigtown, the book capital of Scotland after surviving breast cancer with complications which kept her in hospital for months, arriving with very little she sets about renovating the cottage and as she becomes stronger the community of the town begin to connect with her. it is a community of booklovers, bee-keepers,artists and writers and there are always things going on and events that she reluctantly at first but later with confidence joins. As her appointments continue she has the occasional set back but one thing that seems to help her is her wild swimming. Her communing with nature brings her to a better outlook on life, and this story is very much life-affirming and joyful, Whatever pitfalls she experiences she gains insight with them. A perfect read.

I had high expectations of this book and found Kathleen Hart's story inspiring- I hope it inspires others too. However I regret to say I couldn't really get to grips with her writing style and after leaving it for a while and then trying again I eventually abandanoned the book.

Touching and uplifting, this book takes us on the wellness journey of the author, from repeated hospital stays and cancer treatments to her decision to pull up stakes and move to a cottage in Wigtown, Scotland. Her daily life is entertaining and often thought-provoking, and her healing is inspiring. I really loved this quiet book and now follow the author on Instagram, where she posts gorgeous photos with quotations from books.

I found this book really hard to get into and could not finish it. It’s shame I was really looking forward to reading it but it just did not grab and I did not finish the book. I am sure other people will enjoy this book.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I couldn't help feeling a sense of romance towards this memoir. Quite hard to fathom if you have not yet read it and considering its about recovery from illness, breast cancer and various post op complications and the trauma it causes. Yet Kathleen's raw and authentic self poured into the pages and her sheer fight to overcome, start a new and move beyond her past. She has evoked a romantic feeling in me when she describes the dramatic scenes of life in a remote Scottish town called Wigmore and a cottage she named Devorgilla as the setting for her new beginning.

Overarching the details of her fresh start and beginning of her healing process is an incredible sense of hope, an inner strength and determination to overcome and experience a new zest for life. Not forgetting her bravery and passion for wild swimming. She insists this hobby is not brave, I beg to differ!

Her descriptions of the town, the community, scenery, local events and historical references are dreamy. She is inadvertently doing a fantastic job for the Scottish tourist board. Her Instagram profile too! Go check it out @poshpedlar

I would reread this book for its strong visualisation and its superbly written almost journal like in its style. This is a perfect book for your bedside table. You can comfortably read a chapter or two a night. Put the book down with longish intervals and still really enjoy it. Almost savoring it in its goodness! Therefor picking back up Kathleen's tender story of healing and hope filled days with ease.

I am SO grateful to have been able to read this book! Thank you to the publishers Netgalley for my advanced review copy.

Unsentimental, honest, warm account of living with serious illness and starting a new life in a remote Scottish town. Hart's personal story is told gradually but without looking for sympathy and her descriptions of the town make me want to go there - but you must join in activities to be involved, no good expecting it all to come to you. She is not sorry for herself, but practical and accepting and enjoying life to the very full that she can do. Inspiring read.

Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book; I couldn’t put it down but at the same time I didn’t want it to end. Kathleen Hart has a beautiful way with words as she describes her Devorgilla Days in Wigtown in Galloway. Following years of multiple surgeries and ill health, Kathleen decides to move from the high life in Cheshire to the simple life in Scotland to take time out, to heal and to recover. It just goes to show what we actually do and do not need and what is and what is not important to live a fulfilling life full of joy. From renovating her cottage, meeting new people, swimming in the sea, bee keeping and starting her ‘PoshPedlar’ Instagram account, her life in this welcoming community is warmly described and a joy to read. I have so much admiration for this author and there’s a lesson for all of us amongst the pages of this book.

Review posted on Goodreads and Amazon.co.uk

I have followed KATHLEEN ON Instagram for sometime. When I saw she had written a book Devorgilla Days I jumped at the chance to request it.

Having insight into the Instagram squares I started reading about her life in Scotland. Having also received a cancer diagnosis and in the process of understanding this. I read with personal interest in how Kathleen had healed, renovated her cottage and loved hearing of the town and neighbours she has.

It is a great insight into her life and new beginnings. It’s almost as though you walk through her cottage door, living here life. Walking beside her.

An excellent, heart felt read.

I found this to be a beautifully written account of the author's life changing experience, perhaps a lesson we all need to learn (not the illness bit!), but taking the time to slow down and just 'be'

Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart is the story of Kathleen's life starting again in a town called Wigtown, which is Scotand's book capital (no, I hadn't heard of this place either!).

She has battled various health issues, including cancer, and has bought a 13th century cottage, which she renovates, and we meet her neighbours and people she knows in the town.

This is an enjoyable memoir of finding pleasure in the little things, and having a fresh start.  I enjoyed the way it is told, so you are given more information the longer you read, so you get the full picture by the end of the book, and realise quite how amazing Kathleen is!

 Devorgilla Days  was published on 27th May 2021 and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Kathleen Hart on  Instagram  and on her  website .

I was given this book in exchange of an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  John Murray Press .

Interesting to see what people make of their life after they have been dealt a horrible one. Life is what you make it and things can get better

This is an absolutely wonderful book that is written with hope, experience, courage, faith and love, it made me wish I was this brave. Devorgilla Days is a must-read story aimed at anyone as I am sure you will connect with a tiny part of it somewhere in this brave story. Written as a memoir with great feeling this will almost take you to where Kathleen is writing and living her new life. This will give you the hope to carry on as if Kathleen can then you can too.

What a wonderful book. Kathleen Hart moved to Wigtown in Scotland (not to be confused with Wigton in Cumbria) after a series of major surgeries and protracted recovery. Buying a small rundown cottage, she sets to work making it habitable and, in the process, discovers a warm community of people who go out of their way to make her welcome.

Wigtown is a book town, with several bookshops, and Kathleen mentions most of them in her book, as well as her visits to the library and various classes she undertakes. Each of the main chapters is separated by a chapter on her wild swims in a small bay near Wigtown, the cold water bracing but therapeutic.

Kathleen's journey has not been straightforward and she is disarmingly candid about the dips in that journey, the scares and wobbles along the road to recovery. She faces the future without self-pity, determined to forge something positive from the most challenging years in her life.

I was particularly struck by the section where she mentioned getting rid of a vast collection of handbags and clothes, accumulated over the years before her operations. It seemed to be a metaphor for shedding her old life to embrace the new one and challenged me to think about my priorities.

Wigtown comes across as a lovely town, with friendly and kind souls who have a real sense of community spirit, just like the town where I live here on the south coast of England. So much of the local landscape is mentioned too, and the way the weather and landscape change over the course of the year. I also love the way the conversations and laughter are recounted from the various classes and groups that Kathleen becomes part of.

An uplifting and affirming read, full of life and warmth, which I thoroughly recommend.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by John Murray Press, in return for an honest appraisal.

Devorgilla Days is an inspiring account of Kathleen Hart's 'rebirth' after years of serious and life-threatening illness. She sold up her home and moved to a small cottage in Wigtown, Scotland, to start over in a completely different environment and with very different priorities from her pre-cancer days.

There's a lot to like about this book. How she fills her time and gets involved with the community in her new town is very inspiring. I recently lost my job and find myself also with time to get more involved and can see real parallels in Kathleen's life. Anybody fearing that a Sassenach will not be welcomed north of the border will soon realise this isn't a "You're not from round here" type of town.

I was familiar with Wigtown from the book 'Confessions of a Bookseller' and found it mildly amusing that the book store in that book doesn't even get a mention.

My one criticism - and the reason for 4 stars rather than potentially 5 stars - is that there's WAY too much about cold water swimming for my liking. Whilst it's an important part of her recovery, the accounts get very repetitive and a bit draining.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.