Archives par étiquette : Claire Alexander

THE PIECES OF US de Claire Alexander

Three generations of women. Three life altering events. As they discover the truth of their heritage, they’ll discover what makes the pieces of us…

THE PIECES OF US
by Claire Alexander
Penguin Michael Joseph UK, August 2025
(via Mushens Entertainment)

At fifty-eight Minnie McAllister isn’t an old woman. But as Alzheimer’s ravages her mind, her brain says otherwise.

Cat McAllister is tackling everything life can throw at her. And just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, she’s faced with the discovery that Minnie might not be the mother she once knew.

Meanwhile, Cat’s daughter, Ruby McAllister, who is staring at a two very blue lines, faces a decision that will change the course of her life.

As three generations of women are pulled in three different directions, each are forced to learn lessons about themselves that they never could have imagined.

Claire Alexander lives with her young family on the west coast of Scotland. A freelance journalist, she has written about parenting, sobriety, mental health and wellbeing for publications including The Washington Post, The Independent, The Huffington Post and Glamour. When she’s not writing or parenting, she’s on her paddle board, thinking about her next book. Claire is the author of Meredith, Alone and The Pieces of Us is her second novel.

MEREDITH, ALONE de Claire Alexander

An utterly charming debut reading group novel by Scottish journalist Claire Alexander, MEREDITH, ALONE follows a perfectly ordinary woman with one extraordinary thing about herself – she hasn’t left her home in three years. A warm and uplifting novel that also deals with dark themes around mental illness.

MEREDITH, ALONE
by Claire Alexander
Michael Joseph UK / Grand Central US, 2022

“My name is Meredith Maggs, and I haven’t left my home for 1,215 days.” Meredith Maggs is an independent woman living in Glasgow, with no responsibilities apart from her cat. She has a successful job, likes to cook, and has regular visits from her best friend Sadie and Sadie’s children. But Meredith is not your average 39 year old. Following a traumatic event and the breakdown of family relationships, she hasn’t left home for more than three years. Meredith would rather not think about how her old life used to be – boyfriends, a close relationship with her sister, and a bustling social life. But when two new people enter her life, asking a lot of unwanted questions about her past, Meredith is forced to confront it at last. And, slowly, she realises that her journey towards happiness and self-acceptance involves much more than walking out of her front door.

Claire Alexander lives on the west coast of Scotland with her husband and children. During her career as a freelance writer, she has written for The Washington Post, The Independent, The Huffington Post and Glamour. In 2019, one of her essays was published in the award-winning literary anthology We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor. When she’s not writing or parenting, she’s on her paddle board, thinking about her next book.