Maureen by Rachel Joyce

What Maureen's seventy-five-year-old husband Harold loves more than anything these days is sitting on the patio watching the birds. It seems to Maureen that he has deliberately removed anything out of his thoughts that he doesn't need anymore. Not so, Maureen. Sometimes she feels the responsibility of carrying the things that Harold has let go.

Maureen and Harold's twenty-year-old son tragically killed himself thirty years ago. Harold's pilgrimage several years prior was a panacea for him, and Harold and Maureen both think that Maureen now needs a trip of her own. It's decided that she will drive several hundred miles across England to visit a unique garden built by Harold's old friend Queenie. The garden is meant to honor loved ones who have died, and they've learned there is some kind of a monument for their son David there. So, seventy-two-year-old Maureen puts on her sensible slacks and driving shoes, packs herself sandwiches and a flask of coffee, and sets off.

When Harold went on his walking journey, he was met with kindness along the way and brought out love in people. But Maureen is difficult. She's always had trouble making friends and the death of their son only brought Maureen further into her shell. Her philosophy is that there is only so much you could see of another person's trouble without getting lost yourself, so better to not get involved in the first place.

Maureen's journey is filled with obstacles and difficulties, and she finds herself needing to rely on the good will of others to find her direction. The fundamental decency of humanity shines brightly through the characters Maureen meets along the way.

When David was little, he had told Maureen that he wanted to be a guest of this world, and Maureen hadn't understood. Her pilgrimage to the garden eventually leads her to a place where she understands that when one is a guest, one can see and appreciate what's around them better. It occurs to her that a person can be trapped inside a version of themselves that's from another time, and completely miss the joy staring them right in the face.

This novel is described as part of a triptych which is three closely related themes or parts. The powerful Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (reviewed previously in this blog) being the first of the three followed by The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The latter is now on my list. Maureen should be on EVERY human's list. Inspiring, poignant and hopeful, this little novel will squeeze your heart dry, and I can't recommend it enough.