EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL by Eleanor Ray

 

A wonderful feel good story about a woman who has been let down by life, finally finds a way to cope, and suddenly finds herself challenged again by a little bit of serendipity. Amy Ashton is 39 years old, she lives in London, commutes daily to and from her admin job where she has been for the last 20 years or so. She lives alone, in the house she lived in all those years ago, before her boyfriend, the love of her life, and her best friend, just one day disappeared. No warning, no suspicious behaviour from either of them, no bodies ever found, no bank accounts ever touched. Poof. Just gone. The obvious conclusion is that they had run away together, and even the police investigation came to the same conclusion. 

For Amy, the betrayal of her lover and friend totally devastates her. She finds comfort and security in things, everyday objects that held meaning for her in happier times. Over the years she becomes a mega hoarder, her house quite uninhabitable, and Amy living a tiny life between her work place and the security of grossly overcrowded house. Then one day, a family with two small boys moves in next door. Children being children, they explore their neighbourhood, one property being Amy's. The resulting destruction of a collection of garden pots in the back yard begins the long, difficult and emotional climb for Amy out of her safe and secure existence. Can she find it in herself to start again, to slowly turn back the pages of the last years and find out what really happened to Tim and Chantelle, plus rediscover herself in all of this. Does she have the courage to do so? How many little steps forward and backward will it take for her to see that life really can get better?

So heart warming, and lovely to read in these times when we are being kinder to each other, reconnecting with neighbours, friends. Checking on each other. There is a little bit of Amy in all of us, which makes her so relatable, likeable, and so frustrating as she dilly dallys around, unsure about what to do as she is faced with different problems and decisions.