Oubaitori applies this concept to people. While each blossom looks similar, they bloom differently, with varying shapes and smells. Oubaitori comes from kanji for four trees that bloom in spring: cherry blossoms, plum, peach, and apricot. Meredith can cook for me anytime she’d like. Considering what her life looked like when we met her, though, I would have expected her recovery to be more two steps forward, one step back than it was, over a longer period of time.

Yes, she did work hard to achieve everything she did. While I spent the book cheering Meredith on, sometimes her wins felt like they came too easy. While their inclusion made sense in the context of the story and individual characters, some deserved more page time. What struck me most was how vital the people around Meredith were to her, giving her the connections she needed and the safety to both confront her past and grow beyond her limitations.Ī lot of social issues are explored in this book, many of which have the potential to be quite confronting. I binged this book in a day and enjoyed getting to know Meredith and the people who found their way to her front door. Over the course of just over 300 days, the puzzle pieces of how Meredith’s before became her after come together. My life is divided into before and after, and the before remains out of my grasp. On day 1,219, Meredith meets Celeste, AKA, CATLADY29. On day 1,215, Meredith meets Tom from Holding Hands. Meredith doesn’t have any contact with her mother or Fiona (Fee), her older sister. I’ve been collecting boxes filled with places I’ll never go – works of art I’ll never see. Meredith spends a lot of her time working on jigsaw puzzles. Her only visitors are the Tesco delivery man, Sadie (her best friend) and Sadie’s kids, James and Matilda. Fred, her cat, is her constant companion. When we meet Meredith, she hasn’t left her home for 1,214 days. The healing process after decades of hurt can begin with a simple gesture.

People take their first and last breaths. For better or for worse, life can change in a matter of seconds.

Meredith alone by claire alexander