Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime

Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year meets The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Where'd You Go Bernadette in this witty novel about coming of (middle) age and discovering that you don't have to be who you've become.

How hard can it be to find a pair of Bollywood-dancing septuagenarians?

When Eva Moore wakes up on her fiftieth birthday, her drab middle-class life immediately starts to unravel. First, she receives an anonymous Facebook message claiming her husband is having an affair. Next, she is restructured out of her job by her obnoxiously young boss. Then, just when she thinks her life can't get any worse, her elderly parents wilfully go missing from their group tour of India. All they've left behind is an increasingly bizarre series of TikTok videos.

Eager to put some distance between herself and her failing marriage, Eva undertakes a rescue mission, determined to save her parents from certain disaster. She wants to find them. But what Eva really needs is to find herself. If she can do that, she might get a second chance at life and love - and, along the way, become an inspiration to anyone who fears their best days are behind them ...

Witty, warm and acutely observed - a book club book from an extraordinary new Australian voice about taking life, and adventure, by the horns. A funny, defiant shout into the face of society's expectations around ageing.

PRAISE:

'Fiona has taken the gritty challenges of infidelity, middle age, dementia, unemployment - not to mention travelling in India - and wrapped them up in a charming fairytale that tells you all is not lost.' - Tracy Grimshaw

'An important message delivered with humour and warmth. So much I could relate to!' - Tracy Bowden

'It's a funny, irreverent rollick, filled with likeable crazies. Proof that you really can 'kickstart' life - at any age - as long as you're a certain kind of woman.' - Ray Martin

'Every serious journalist thinks they will one day write a book - most don't. Fiona continues to demonstrate that she has not only the skill, but the drive and courage to write very clever fiction. Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime is a terrific holiday read.' - Sandra Odorisio

'What a wild ride! Funny, poignant ... much of it hilariously relatable. Eva is the pin-up girl of the sandwich generation.' - Melissa Doyle

'Laugh-out-loud funny from the very first page. Eva Reddy is immediately relatable and likeable as a main character. A fast-paced, easy read - funny, and insightful - with a lovely dash of nostalgia for women of a certain age. Brava!' - Angela Cox

'A warm, amusing and adventurous tale of one woman's search for answers ... and herself.' - Kim Lock, author of The Other Side of Beautiful

'A coming of (middle) age romp that has an abundance of wit and pathos. Finding destiny through desperation gives us all hope, and in this delightful novel, many laughs along the way. Eva speaks for and to millions of women who share her experiences, fears and triumphs, beautifully distilled into an addictive read.' - Tara Brown