Contemporary
Meet Bobby: Born ‘n bred Lewis girl. Millennial. Teuchtar. And self-confessed ‘cheery depressive’.
She’s sorted…sort of. With her own place, a steady income, and a tiny pool of trusted friends, she leads a blissfully uneventful life. At almost 40 and working as a petrol station attendant in Stornoway, she’s hardly broadened her horizons since leaving her home in a village just ten miles away.
She gets more pleasure from her favoured Marian Keyes books than she does from reality. She daydreams sometimes of a fuller life… however, she fears that any deviation from her strict routine and rituals could potentially derail her delicate mental health, and that is simply a risk she is not willing to take. Not after last time. Or the time before that. She’s had too many close calls.
What will become of her though, when despite her care and diligence, life throws curveballs she simply can’t avoid? Will Bobby find the strength to overcome heartbreak? Is there a tiny possibility that she could prove herself wrong and even perhaps rise and thrive from the ashes of despair? Or is she destined to forever remain empty?
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this, to treasure forever and re-read again and again. It is a beautiful portrait of survival, written with authenticity and heart. This is not a story of dramatic transformation, but of subtle resilience. It's about finding moments of light in the dark, and learning that emptiness can sometimes make space for something new. The writing, grounded in the rhythms and humour of island life, is rich with a Gaelic sensibility that adds depth without ever feeling ornamental. Everything feels authentic, born of lived experience rather than observation.
