Letters to Iris

                                                                         

A gloriously uplifting story about love in all its forms from the Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Reading Group and Things I Want My Daughters to Know

Tess has a secret - one which is going to turn her life upside down in just nine months' time.

The only person she can confide in is her beloved grandmother. But Iris is slipping further away each day.

Then chance brings a stranger into Tess's life.

Gigi's heart goes out to Tess, knowing what it's like to feel alone. She's determined to show her that there's a silver lining to every cloud.

As their unlikely friendship blossoms, Tess feels inspired to open up.

But something still holds her back - until she discovers Iris has a secret of her own. A suitcase of letters from another time, the missing pieces of a life she never shared.

Could the letters hold the answers that Tess thought lost for ever?

An uplifting, unforgettable story about keeping secrets, taking chances and finding happiness where you least expect it.


 

Elizabeth Noble was born in High Wycombe, Bucks, and now lives in New York with her husband and two daughters. She studied English at Oxford University and after graduating embarked on a career in publishing before taking up writing full time. She is the author of seven novels, The Reading Group, The Tenko Club, Alphabet Weekends, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, The Girl Next Door and The Way We Were, which were all Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers. The Reading Group reached Number One. Her new novel, Between a Mother and Her Child, is out now.

My Review

I was left completely in tears by this book. From the start, I was drawn into Tess's life as she watches her grandmother's decline. Then I was intrigued by Gigi's story wondering how the two would intertwine. Their stories will touch you on every level as between them they deal with facing pregnancy alone, dementia, motherhood and the relationship between mother and child, marriage and what happens when you realise you are only living a half-life? I found I could relate to all of these but found Iris's life to be the most touching. The author has a real talent for story-telling as well as for creating characters that are so real I found myself wanting to leave them messages of support or just give them a hug. I am now emotionally drained but this is one of my favourite reads so far this year.