Birdie lives a lonely existence since the deaths of her beloved husband and twin sister.
Jane has recently moved to Brighton for a fresh start with her forthright daughter Frankie.
Ada is a doctor who has lost her place in the world, feeling she doesn’t belong either here or in her hometown in Poland.

They all live in the same street but up until now their paths haven’t crossed

This book was such a lovely read, I’m a sucker for the found family troupe and this was a such a wonderfully heartwarming and uplifting example.

I liked the format of the story following the three different narrators in turn; Birdie, Jane, and Ada. I thought the past was interspersed well with the present. The final three chapters of each of the narrators concluded their journeys well. It's a nice story of life not turning out as hoped, friendship, and learning to live again.

I've just finished reading Birdie Greenwing and my heart is very full and a little bit sad!
This is a beautifully written book that pulls at your heartstrings and takes you through a range of emotions.
One thing that stands out for me is the quirkiness of the characters, they all add so much to the story and I fell in love with all of them. Birdie herself is just fabulous and I adore the relationship she builds with Frankie.
Once I started reading I couldn't stop and by the last chapter the waterworks had appeared but I was smiling through the tears.
Erica is a fantastic writer who really draws the reader in and helps them to create a connection with her characters.
This will definitely be in my books of the year selection.

Oh how I loved this beautifully life-affirming book. It left me with a smile and a warm heart.

Birdie is our star, but the other female characters who surround her are just as important. In fact, the male characters are the supporting cast, whilst the women take centre stage.

Each woman has a history and a sadness or regret that we come to learn about. As events bring these women together we feel like we're part of their circle. Each character develops and finds a new lease for life that is just gorgeous to read. I particularly loved the interplay between Birdie and Min, two 'difficult' women who are just what the other needs.

Then we have Ada, the Polish doctor who has left her beloved family and home behind because she feels too deeply and it hurts. Her cold facade is just that though.

Jane, Frankie, Suki, Min complete the cast and they are all wonderfully written.

This book is about the messiness of life. The sadness we experience and the grief. It's about loss, love and second chances. But mostly it's about the power of friendship and connection.

I loved Ericka’s first book ‘Dog Days’ so was delighted to get access to this title from Netgalley.

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing tells the story of a few people living in the same street in Brighton (my home town so always a winner). Birdie misses her husband and sister since they died, Jane and Frankie are having a fresh start away from a domineering mother (and grandmother) and Ada is furthering her medical career and desperately trying to assert her independence. Despite such differences in ages and experience their lives intertwine and the novel shows us what family really means and how it can be very different to the typical nuclear family.

On the face of it, Goodbye Birdie Greenwing looks like a light read but there is so much more to it than that. It is hugely readable but brings with it a deeper side. It cover so many issues - neurodiversity, family dynamics, cancer, unwanted pregnancy bereavement and loneliness. But it is also here warming, joyful and life affirming.

Another heartbreaking, heartwarming read by Waller - no other authors straddles those lines so brilliantly!

A lovely book showing that’s it’s never too late to connect with people. Birdie Greenwing is ready to give up on life until her young neighbour and her mum have other ideas. Cancer doctor Ada has a very small life outside of her work and doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere. Both of them find there is fun to be had in life. A lovely, moving read about long held secrets and finding love

Telling the story of Jane, Ada and Bridie, this book left me in tears would also with a heart full of laughter and joy. A book about life and death, family and friends, and how to continue after you lose those you love. The characters just leap off the page and their relationships were just wonderful. This is the first book I have read by this author, but it certainly won’t be the last. If you want a warm hug of a book just run and pick this one up I would highly recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Set around three women, neighbours, in the seaside town of Brighton. All share a troubled history and current loneliness. When their worlds collide what follows is a heartwarming, beautiful tale of compassion and sisterhood. A must read, one you will need your hankies for.

Synopsis—Birdie Greenwing has been at a loose end ever since her beloved twin sister and husband passed away. Too proud and stubborn to admit she is lonely, Birdie’s world has shrunk. But then some new neighbours move in to the house next door.

Jane has come to Brighton for a fresh start, away from her ferociously protective mother Min. While Jane finds it hard to stand up for herself, her daughter Frankie has no problem telling people what she does and doesn’t want. Ada Kowalski has come to England to follow her dreams, but her new life is harder than she expected.

When a series of incidents brings their lives crashing together, the three find that there is always more to a person than meets the eye …


My thoughts —-
These characters jumped from the page with joy . The occupants of Shrubland road in Brighton began to capture your hearts from the beginning. Although the story is about Birdie who is fabulous Min had my heart she was an amazing character so funny and honest ! From Connie the volunteer at the hospital cafe with her incredible mugs pizza slut and many more to the polish shop and the men who adore Ada so many believable characters. I also loved reading about Brighton it’s a place I know so well so for me this gave such credence to the story. I have not read dog days yet but i definitely will it is on my shelf. It’s safe to say this was a fabulous read. Go read it!!!

Such a delightful book despite some sad issues raised.
The differing relationships between mothers and daughters are shared, the lives of strong independent women are revealed and the book covers loneliness and love.
The characters are engaging and the book flows. You just want to keep reading to find out what happens next to the various women.

What a fabulous book 🩷

“Grief is love with nowhere to go after all”

All the feels, heartwarming, with incredible characters, strong, sensitive, caring,
You get so invested in them, just delightful.

You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll be left wondering why you’re not part of their community, and how to go about getting there!

A powerful story, thought provoking and compelling, a beauty on grief, love, family, friendship, human connections, but more importantly about life.

Just wonderful - make sure to pick up your copy and recommend it to everyone !

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc.

This book unfortunately just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect with all the POVs and was just a bit too slow paced

What a beautiful book. Women and misfits everywhere should read this.
A round up of people living their own lives in one community, until a series of events brings them together.
I laughed and cried and probably identified with parts of all of them. I moved near to Brighton two years ago, and knew the landmarks in the book too, which just made it slightly more special.
A fantastic follow-up to Dog days

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing was an emotional , interesting story. It's not my usual sort of book but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Birdie Greenwing never got over the deaths of her beloved husband and her twin sister. She has wandered through the days, alone apart from Audrey her rescue dog. When she is told she has terminal cancer she little realises that her remaining days are going to be quite different from the days before. Jane lives next door with Frankie her twelve year old daughter. Jane is a nurse & has always wanted to live in Brighton & have a bit of a break from Min- her overbearing mother; who is also lonely. For Jane, it is hard going, especially as neuro-diverse Frankie (quite my favourite character!!)hates the before & after school clubs- she is NOT a club joining person (might have changed her mind if there had been a taxidermy club!) Ada is a doctor specialising in oncology- she was the one who had to break the news to Birdie. She is Polish & dreadfully homesick. The local Polish shop seems to be her only socialisation. Told from various perspectives we see these people form relationships & become part of each others lives. There are a lot of laugh out loud moment as well as some heart-breaking ones.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this lovely book. I miss them all already!

I knew, as soon as I read Ericka Waller’s brilliant debut, Dog Days, that she was an author to watch. And happily, I couldn’t have been more prescient.

No sign of second novel jitters here. Goodbye, Birdie Greenwing is a triumph — of characterisation, of immersive storytelling, and of lusciously lyrical prose. It’s one of my favorite reads of 2024 and will almost certainly end up in my top ten at the end of the year.

Set once again in the seaside town of Brighton, it’s the story of three women, each with their own troubled history but all sharing an overwhelming loneliness that makes them fearful of their future: elderly widow Birdie, Polish oncologist Ada, and nurse and single mum Jane.

When we first meet them, little do they know that their small, separate worlds are about to collide. What follows is a poignant, heartwarming tale of serendipity, found family and sisterhood. It will deliver healing for one, redemption for another and a final hurrah for the third.

For the time it took me to read this book, these three damaged women took full possession of both my heart and my mind. Waller reveals them layer by layer — their secrets, guilt and sorrows — until we know and understand them as well as we know ourselves.

It’s rare, as a reader, to feel a true intimacy with fictional characters, but when it happens, it’s a truly wonderful thing. I flinched at every wound and warmed at every small moment of friendship, unburdening and hope.

While Birdie, Ada and Jane are the undeniable stars of this novel, Waller’s prose glitters just as brightly. Rich and luxurious, it’s a smorgasbord of metaphor, so inspired in its imagining as to genuinely take your breath away.

We know from the beginning how this book will end, and while this tinges its reading with sadness, the effect is of adding to rather than detracting from its overall enjoyment.

A beautiful, inspiring story. What heights will Waller take us to next?

This was an endearing, heartwarming tale of three women reclaiming their lives.
Birdie has gone through loss and never fully recovered, with her own failing health now hitting her. She rediscovers that life is worth living.
Ada spends her days telling people how long they have to live, and then goes home to a shell, with a new intern at work, and a new found appreciation for running, she discovers its ok to let people in.
Jane is trying to work and raise a neurodiverse child while hiding her own secrets. With a sister avoiding her and a mum who she's left to start a new life but haunts her daily tasks, she needs to learn how to be herself and how to say no.
Together, these three women, their family and friends, come together in a delightful tale of life.
I finished the book in 2 days, I just didn't want to put it down.
I did tear up a couple of times, but it was happy tears.
It's a lovely read.

This is my favourite book of the year so far. A lovely story of female friendship. Three lonely women living on the same street in Brighton brought together by accidents. Birdie receives terrible news from her oncologist Ada, but it knocks her out of the cloud of grief and guilt she's been living in for 8 years. Her new neighbours, Jane and 12 year old daughter Frankie, come to her rescue and Frankie is able to get through to her. Ada meanwhile has her own guilt about leaving her parents in Poland, and hasn't assimilated to life outside of work. Jane is also feeling guilty about moving away from her mother, Min. With a supporting cast of colleagues and the local Polish shop owners these women gradually thaw. Some humorous moments, especially with Connie and the coffee mugs. I stayed awake into the early hours to finish this- the characters had drawn me into their world. #netgalley #goodbybirdiegreenwing

Loved this book. It was initially a slow read for me, just a few pages per day because I lost my dad recently.

However the second half of the book was devoured in a couple of days. Loved the characters, the observations, the humour and the heartbreak.

Another excellent book - I loved Dog Days