Saving Missy: The Sunday Times bestseller and the most heartwarming debut fiction novel of 2021

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We have the opportunity to see how she met her husband Leo, who she misses greatly and understand the complexity and possible one-sidedness of their relationship. Including the fact Missy sacrificed much to not only ‘catch’ the man of her dreams, but keep him also. I have a full-time job overseeing app development, so I do a lot on the go. In fact, I’m talking to you from a watch I bought so that I can text myself when I get ideas. I wrote most of The Girl With the Louding Voice in a coffee shop where there was a poster of a girl that the chain’s foundation was supporting. She had the brightest smile, and it felt like she was saying: “Keep going, do it for me!” I was newly married at the time and was thinking a lot about love and enduring relationships. I kept wondering about that idea: can you love someone and kill them? Because love ideally requires selflessness, but then I thought perhaps there are as many different types of love as there are people. I teach boys at a Catholic secondary school, and creative writing at the university in Galway, and I have two sons. So I am busy! I plonked my desk in the big open-plan kitchen in our bungalow and I just put headphones on and do the work. It’s the house I grew up in, so it’s got a very weird energy. When my parents were selling I said I’d buy it; I like being rooted.

Boo hoo, waahhh… Boo hoo, argghhkk! Somebody sledgehammered my heart, broke into tiny particles and buried into ground! I’m in deep pain and whining, crying like a baby! And I’m in the mall now! Everybody’s looking for me. I know you will ask me why the hell I read the final chapters of the book in the public place if it is so devastatingly sad story.

Beth Morrey Press Reviews

I am but it’s at the point where what it’s about changes every day. I never used to be a plotter but I had a disastrous manuscript a few years ago that was 100,000 words of nothing, so I at least need to have an end scene in my mind now. I’ve certainly felt it in the world around me in my past relationships, and in my friends’ relationships and this was one of the things I understood better after working for the domestic violence organisation – there’s a continuum of behaviour. It starts with texting, you know, saying: “Where are you? Who are you with? What are you wearing?” Which I and lots of my friends have experienced. It’s not healthy, but it is common. And that is on a spectrum of behaviour. It’s entitlement, and it’s the failure to treat women as fully autonomous beings. The Love Story of Missy Carmichael (also known as Saving Missy) by Beth Morrey is a heartwarming debut about Millicent (Missy) who is 79 and incredibly lonely until she gets new neighbors. It actually took me quite a while to get into this book even though I was listening to the audio, but eventually, I got to the point where I was fully invested in the story and Missy being happy. One of the new neighbors happens to be a small child, and I loved the relationship between her and Missy. The dog was also a bright spot in the novel, and I love anytime an author makes an animal an important part of the story. There is an interesting twist towards the end of the book that I wasn't expecting, and a lot of readers will find this novel very emotional. This is a delightful book, the demographics will mostly appeal to older readers, parents who have survived teenagers and young adults holding breath for the moment when they leave home! Ahh! the tranquility. And then there is the relationship with Bobby, a dog Missy grudgingly adopts. Missy and Bobby’s relationship is beautiful and for me, the true heart of the novel.

Moving but not sentimental ... [a character] as complex, frustrating, vulnerable and surprising as any I've met in print' - Eleanor Wasserberg, author of FoxloweA heartfelt reminder of the affirmative joy of being kind to others, and to yourself' Piers Torday, The Lost Magician Missy, the main character, is clearly-drawn and readily-identifiable in our society: a lady whose spouse is either deceased or in a care home, whose children have grown up and moved to other parts of the country or even abroad, and who has lost many of her contemporaries to death. As an octogenarian, I know many such ladies in my community – some of whom walk dogs daily and chat to other owners. Missy is lonely and lost. She also has a big secret that has scarred her life and her relationships. Best is having a book always humming in your mind. It’s really nice, even when something miserable happens in your day, to be able to think, maybe I can work that into the story. It helps you make sense of everything else in your life. Worst is people expecting you to be precious about your book and treat it like your baby, because I am not sentimental like that at all. For my mother, for instance, the idea of me being edited was this offensive thing, while I’m like: “Yeah, let’s get the scalpel out, let’s fix it.” While I enjoyed it, I wasn’t quite as enamoured of this book as some people I know were. However it is a good read and provides food for thought, especially about the way each of us treat others and the choices we make in life. Choices that can have far reaching impact. But sometimes a little kindness and concern can make all the difference. So a number of positives to come out of it, even if the main character is not always likable. An enjoyable read that will appeal to a lot of people.

Missy Carmichael is 79, lives in London and is lonely. Her children have left home - her son has moved to Australia with his wife and son, and she is estranged from her daughter after a big argument. The love of her life is gone and she is still living in their large family home by herself. She knows that she has not done anything to help herself so on New Years Day she heads to the park nearby and meets Sylvie and Angela and her son Otis. Little does she know that these women are going to change her life for the better. She suddenly has friends, and a reason to leave the house. She even agrees to look after a dog. She lonely life becomes full and busy. Be prepared to be uplifted but also be prepared to cry – there are a few emotional twists along the way. But believe me, this is a book that is sure to warm your heart.

Saving Missy is a beautifully written, heart-felt story about friendship, opening yourself up to new experiences and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I failed to see any kind of positive connection (or maybe any kind of connection) to these characters. About halfway through, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. It was pleasant enough, but that was all, though I kept reading, hoping it would touch a nerve or develop into something insightful. This is about someone trying to learn independence late in life, an interesting premise. And there are some delightful turns of phrase. Wow, I was absolutely not expecting to go on the rollercoaster of emotions that this novel sent me on.