I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This was such a sweet and touching read read. I loved FMC character a lot.

Thank you to netgalley for an opportunity to read this book.

This one was a strong, strong tug on my heartstrings! Meredith was a character I cannot soon forget and though I don’t share in her life’s traumas, I related so much to how she found sanctuary in her own cozy home. These characters were so deeply written and felt and I loved the melancholic tone with such a hopeful ending. I can’t wait to see what Claire Alexander does next!

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my review. This was a fast paced, interesting read. I felt emotionally invested, and enjoyed getting to know the characters.

I was given the NetGalley access to this after I had already read it via the library. I really enjoyed the pace of this book and how the character’s past was slowly revealed. This book would be enjoyed by anyone who liked Where in the world is Bernadette? And Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

This book blew me away. It’s in the vein of A Man Called Ove or The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, but more realistic, and therefore more satisfying to me (both of those novels are excellent and I do recommend them).
Meredith suffers from panic attacks and hasn’t left the house in three years. She has experienced trauma that she is working to deal with as she makes goals to venture outside. That trauma and her story is revealed slowly over the book, and the pacing is perfection.
Cliches are avoided, and Meredith feels like a real person who I’d love to meet and try her amazing baking. She’s full of pain but also full of love, and her story broke my heart and also filled me with hope.
I highly recommend this book to all adult readers! Thank you to Grand Central publishing for the complimentary ebook.

I’ve read 90 books so far this year and this is my favorite one. Such a sweet and touching story of a woman who has been through a lot. Explores family relationships, friendships and the strength we need to overcome being broken. I love this book. Didn’t want it to end.

Meredith has what she considers a full life - a job, friends, a cat, an online community and her jigsaw puzzles - the catch is she hasn't left her house in over 3 years. She's had a difficult childhood and a traumatic experience has kept her isolated but it all changes when she makes new friends, one from her online community and another from "Helping Hands" a support group for homebound people. She's a truly lovable character and her transition and re-entry into the outside world kept me rooting for her throughout. A feel good book for sure.

WOW. I went into this story blindly and was so pleasantly surprised! It’s such a bittersweet story that immediately pulls the reader in. Meredith hasn’t left her apartment in more than 1,200 days. She’s got a best friend, an online support group, and a faithful companion in the form of her cat Fred for connections, and work and jigsaw puzzles to keep her busy…but she’s a recluse and afraid to go out her front door. As the story constantly shifts between the present timeline and years in the past, we learn of a childhood with a narcissistic abusive mother and a major trauma can lead to something like this. This story also shows the power when you have a support system that believes in you, even if it’s one step.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is out now.

I had a bit of a struggle with this book. Meredith was an interesting character with a lovely best friend. Her family are a different topic entirely. That mom of hers was a real piece of something. Meredith actually seems like someone I would like to be friends with myself. However….something just didn’t click for me. There were some pretty hard topics covered but I really struggled through the talk about miscarriages and loss of babies. I couldn’t finish it after about 40% through.

Where to begin!? This was such a cute, warm & fuzzy story. Meredith was such a dynamic character, and it was a true pleasure to go in her recovery journey with her. The moments of witty banter throughout her road to recovery kept the light-hearted tone of the story alive even in the darker moments. This is story is a true example of the fact that recovery isn’t linear, but those you meet along the way make the decision to push through worthwhile.

This book was beautiful.

Meredith's journey is so raw and powerful. I'm not usually a big fan of time jumps, but reliving the past with Meredith helped me to understand her pain. I could easily see myself befriending her in real-life.
Everything about this book spoke to me. I honestly did not expect to love it so much. I am so glad I picked this one up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read it in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hard one for me. On one hand, I truly felt for Meredith. On the other hand, I kept finding myself comparing the book to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I absolutely adored. I think Meredith, Alone was just a little too slow and I wasn't able to form a connection with Meredith. It was still a good book, and I do recommend it!

This eARC was provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Meredith hasn't left her home in 1214 days. She shops online, gets her groceries delivered, and works a remote job. Her cat, Fred, keeps her company and she spends her free time either reading, baking, or working on jigsaw puzzles. Meredith interacts online with an online social group and slowly starts becoming closer to one of the woman on the forum, Celeste.

Meredith only interacts physically with a select few people - the grocery delivery man, her best friend Sadie, Celeste, a 10-year-old neighbor (Jacob), and Tom, a member of an organization that comes to keep her company and makes sure she is doing okay. She has family near by but it is complicated.

Meredith was not always like this, but traumatic events in her life changed her completely. Now, even the thought of leaving her safe haven, her home, makes her anxiety sky rocket and even triggers panic attacks. We follow Meredith's journey through dealing with depression, trauma, and anxiety.

This book was beautiful. Meredith is a sweet and likable woman. The dual timeline allows us to really get to know all that she has been through and get a sense of the kind of person she is. I love how we progressively start seeing how Meredith allows new people to enter her life and open up to them. The side characters are just amazing and so supportive, which is exactly what someone with depression needs.

The pace of this novel is on the slower side but it is appreciated because anything else would've been too rushed. The author did an amazing job covering sensitive topics like mental health, sexual assault, the life-long affect's of verbal abuse and neglect on a child, and domestic violence. If you need a book that will touch your heart and have you cheering for a fictional characters growth and healing journey, pick this one up.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and the author for this ARC.
Find me on IG: coffeebreakwithrachel

I really enjoyed this one! I was able to get the audiobook from @librofm and I flew through it. Such a great read with great writing and message. Highly recommend!

*Thank you @grandcentralpub and @librofm for the #gifted egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

Meredith has not left her home in over 3 years. While she never leaves her home, Meredith has carved a routine for her life. She works from home, finds hobbies to keep herself entertained, has a friend who visits her regularly, and her cat Fred that keeps her company. Meredith is content with her life, but when her online therapist starts encouraging Meredith to find ways to step outside, Meredith wonders if she can find the way to move forward.

You alternate between Meredith's past and present as you make your way through the book. In her past you see Meredith and her sister and their life growing up with their mother, who was emotionally abusive. In her present time, you see Meredith go through her daily routines and see her make some new friends with Celester, who she meets in an online support group, and then with Tom who visits from an organization to offer friendship for those in need. I enjoyed seeing Meredith and her friendships with Sadie, Celeste, and Tom. While each help Meredith in their own way. I also loved Meredith's cat Fred who offers her daily companionship.

As you learn more about Meredith's past you learn what ultimately led up to her keeping herself in isolation. Meredith did not have an easy time growing up and it was hard to see what she endured. While she had a hard past, as time goes on, Meredith finds comfort in her friends as she slowly heals and moves at her own pace to take a step forward.

This was a quick enjoyable read that has some hard-hitting moments as well as some lighthearted.

Very engaging story right from the beginning! It covers so many topics and deep emotional situations and it's written in such a light, enjoyable way. You will find yourself engaged and rooting for the characters. This book made me want to read til the end. Loved it. Recommend.

This book has received many excellent reviews; if readers do not know it already, now would be a good time to take a look.

Changes are about to come Meredith’s way. Readers will be hoping that she will embrace them and find a happy ending after her three years of staying inside. Meredith has kept busy; after all, she has her job, her feline, her on-line support group, and her hobbies. But, could there be more for Meredith than friends who come to her? Could she make it outside again?

Readers learn that Meredith suffered trauma earlier in her life. How will she move past (or through) this? What will happen when a relative gets in touch? Will Meredith move forward? No spoiler, so read this Glasgow based story to find out. It is a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

I have really mixed felling about Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander. It's well written, with fleshed out characters all around, including the ones you don't like, and the storytelling is strong. The story is written from the point of view of Meredith, a 40-something single woman who hasn't left her home in well over 1200 days. It moves back and forth through time, moving from her present experiences to flashbacks of events that have led up to her current inability to leave her house, or to allow more than a few select people inside. Meredith's growth involved overcoming abuse in multiple forms, family strife, and her sense that she'll remain safe as long as she's inside her home, her sanctuary. The descriptions of her experiences are vivid enough, strong without too much detail to hold back my emotional response, that it was hard to get through some of it, even knowing that she was moving forward and away from those times in her life. Meredith grows through and beyond all the muck in her past in a believable way, dealing with setbacks and surges forward as happens in real life. In short, it's a very well written book, and I recommending keeping it on the shelf until you're ready to deal with heavy content that evokes significant feeling.

OMG!! This book made so emotional, in a good. I love a book that gives me all the feels. Meredith is sensitive, emotional, tortured and so many things and I can completely understand her struggles with her past. I feel her self-isolation by choice is a defense mechanism so to keep her from making the same mistake but also a way of punishing herself for her past.

I did not expect to like or enjoy this book as much as I did but this book surprised me. Meredith as a character and her story was just too good! Definitely a recommended read.

If Claire Alexander writes another book, I hope it is good as this one.

Thanks to Claire Alexander, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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