Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year

Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year - Joanna Nell

Description

It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime . . .

Heather Winterbottom has worked side by side with her husband as GPs in their idyllic rural practice for over forty years. But as the time comes to hang up their stethoscopes, the Winterbottoms discover that they have rather different visions of retirement . . .

Heather dreams of exploring the Greek Islands, of escaping the shackles of her routine life and embracing an exciting new adventure. Alan dreams of growing his own vegetables.

When things come to a head at a family lunch, Heather announces that she has decided to take a year off. From her old life, from her marriage - from Alan. Alone in beautiful Greece, Heather embarks on her very own odyssey - complete with peak experiences, pitfalls and temptations. But what if coming home is the biggest adventure yet?

Review

There were so many facets to this story and I enjoyed all of them.

What I loved most about this book is that it covered lots of things I found really interesting. For instance how patients stop the Dr and want advice on their aliments and the medical jargon. The insights into The Odyssey by Homer, and most of all how someone someone you think you know can have such a different outlook on your life.

There were so many facets to this story and I enjoyed all of them. The characters were given depth through the eyes of Heather as she sifted through what she knew of them and what they meant to her. How her relationships and path in life had changed now she was officially retired. There were also flashbacks to the past covering how she met her husband.

Slightly comical was her unexpected travelling companion to the Greek Isles who had introduced her to The Odyssey. As was the couple she breakfasted with when she couldn't avoid them. Each time I put this book down I couldn't wait to get back to it, which is always for me the sign that I am really enjoying a story. It was a wonderful read, just like all the other books I've read by this author.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 2 November 2023.

Comments

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