One Good Thing – Alexandra Potter

Published By: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 464
Released On: 28/04/2022

In life, nothing is certain. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something can happen to change the course of everything.

Liv Brooks is still in shock. Newly-divorced and facing an uncertain future, she impulsively swaps her London life for the sweeping hills of the Yorkshire Dales, determined to make a fresh start. But fresh starts are harder than they look and feeling lost and lonely she decides to adopt Harry, an old dog from the local shelter, to keep her company.

But Liv soon discovers she is not the only one in need of a new beginning. On their daily walks around the village, they meet Valentine, an old man who suffers from loneliness who sits by the window and Stanley, a little boy who is scared of everything, hides behind the garden gate and Maya, a teenager who is angry at everyone and everything. But slowly things start to change.

*****

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I cannot tell you how much I loved Alexandra’s previous book “Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up”, so I had such high hopes for this book, but it is completely different. I can’t even compare them to say which one I preferred, they were both perfect in their own way. Whereas the previous book felt more jolly and frivolous, this one was a lot more…important, if that’s the right word.

There are a number of difficult topics such as divorce, death, grief, autism, dementia, affairs, house fires, mental health, and missing people.

Alexandra has hit a subtle balance between fun and frivolity and the seriousness of real life.

I really liked the integration of the main storylines between the different generations. At first they are very separate, but they soon become intertwined and it’s clear all these people need each other.

Overall, I would say this book is very much like Liv’s cottage – warm, cosy, and inviting. It really picks you up and lift you up and makes you believe that amongst the horrors of the world, there are some good people still in it and it’s worth holding on to that.