When Fiona reaches out with her own crisis, Meredith is finally able to begin healing from the trauma at the root of her agoraphobia. However, they fell out and have barely spoken for years. Meredith knows that in order to truly open herself to these new opportunities, she must reconcile with her sister, Fiona, who was her protector and best friend growing up. Meredith offers her support online, gradually taking the step to invite Celeste into her home. At the same time, via an online chat room, she meets Celeste, who discloses that she has recently been sexually assaulted.

When Tom McDermott, from a 'befriending charity' called Holding Hands, shows up on her doorstep one day, her initial instinct is to ghost him to avoid future meetings to her surprise, he becomes a consistent visitor, a jigsaw partner, an appreciative audience for her baking, and, eventually, a friend. She has created a fairly healthy routine to her days-freelance writing, exercise, baking, doing jigsaw puzzles, having sessions with Diane the counselor-but she rarely interacts with anyone in person other than her best friend, Sadie, and Sadie's kids. 14, 2018, Meredith Maggs hasn’t left her house in 1,214 days. Meredith, Alone is easily one of my small handful of 'five stars are not enough' books of 2021.An agoraphobic Glasgow woman works to heal her family-based trauma so she can reconnect with the world and the people she loves.Īs of Nov. I can't wait to see what Claire comes up with next, but meanwhile, I hope this becomes a film. I would love to see a sequel, and I was so invested in Meredith and her life that I am worried she may relapse during the Covid lockdowns and I need to know she'll be ok! She really did become that real to me :) It was the penultimate book I read in 2021 and easily makes my top 3.reads of the entire year. My only problem with the book was that I didn't want it to end.

Her small but loyal support network consists of a few wonderfully drawn characters, each with their own story and subplots, but all woven n so seamlessly by Claire Alexander that they never seem contrived or unbelievable. Despite the title, and the fact that Meredith has not left her house for a couple of years, I never really felt she was completely alone. The story is beautifully written, and despite its potentially depressing subject matter (abuse, depression, isolation) I found it an easy, enjoyable, and uplifting read. I was intrigued by the blurb, and loved the cover, but the story still exceeded my expectations, high as they were. I read this book during a couple of sleepless nights and couldn't put it down.

Meredith alone book