Many thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut book by Anna Montague. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3.5 stars rounded up!
Magda Eklund is turning 70 and still working as a therapist in a group practice with friends from school. She's always been on her own except for the close friendship she shares with Sara. When Sara dies, she becomes adrift. Sara's husband gives Magda all Sara's kept letters and journals, and Magda finds out that Sara's plans for her big birthday were for the two of them to go on a road trip to meaningful places in their lives. Magda decides to take that trip with Sara beside her in her urn.
This was an alternately humorous and thoughtful look at grief and coming to terms with our own wants and desires. We learn about how Magda's childhood growing up with Swedish immigrant parents and younger sister, Hedda, shaped her. It's wishing for second chances when the possibility is long past, but still being able to forge on a new path. I was sometimes a bit confused with the characters for some reason, and kept looking up names to see just where they fit in. But it was a solid debut and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
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