Maureen by Rachel Joyce
This is the third and last in the series that started with The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and continued with The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. This is the story of Maureen, Harold's wife, and takes place a few years after his story does. Maureen is still struggling with how to deal with her grief and the feelings she has around the loss of her son. Maureen and Harold have made their peace with each other and grown closer, but they are both aware of her struggle. Maureen has heard about the garden that Queenie created and is having trouble understanding it. She's seen pictures, but they haven't helped her understand. Harold and her have discussed her need to see for herself this place that holds a piece of her life, and one night when she can't sleep, she decides to go.
This is story of her journey, one that is both physical and emotional. It is a shorter book than the others, but goes deep into Maureen's mind, showing us how she thinks, and how she has used her stern facade to protect herself. It also gives us insight into other things that happened along the way in her struggle and how they've brought her to a more isolated life.
It took me some time to read this novel as I wanted to sit with it at times and reflect on what it was saying and where it was taking me. This is a beautiful book, and a fitting conclusion to this story.
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