Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
I love reading the books written by Joanna Nell. They are so uplifting and positive in attitude, filled with humour and their main characters are in their post-work stage of life. From the sunny cover with its quirky font, and the interesting names allotted to places and people, it is a story of everyday people experiencing everyday life. Her main theme seems to be life is what you make it. The title of this book, at first glance, seems mismatched considering the demographic who fill the pages.
The storyline is about two doctors, Heather and Alan Winterbottom, who have worked together at the Netherwood Medical Centre most of their working life. ‘Now was the time’, as Allen said in his farewell retirement speech, ‘to enjoy getting to know each other again’ (12). However, that was not to prove as simple as he expected because, it appeared, that each had polarising ideas as to their expectations of retirement. While Alan was happy to potter around in his garden, Heather had more exciting aspirations. She felt that all their married life had been like a relay race, and they’d finally reached the finish line. Now they could move on at their own pace (16-17). But in what direction? When she decided to take a gap year and follow her dream, their lives seemed to drift apart.
The first half of the book follows the pair as they try to readjust to their new life. Heather found this particularly hard but gained some sense of empathy and understanding during her visits to Esme Clark, the local school’s retired headmistress. Esme told her that transitioning to retirement was like going through a kind of bereavement and it was quite easy once you got the hang of it. When Heather finally decides to follow her dream, she takes Esme with her. This section of the book also reveals to the reader how Heather and Alan first met and their budding romance.
The second part of the book concerns Heather’s escapades as she ventures into this latest stage of her life while exploring beautiful Greece.
The author has cleverly interwoven some of the Greek classics into her story especially Homer’s Odyssey which seems to help Heather in her journey to find contentment.
Joanna Nell is a British-Australian writer, a GP and an advocate for positive ageing, all of which enhance the telling of this tale.
She is the author of five bestselling novels The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker, The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home, The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital and now Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year.
Joanna Nell first began her writing career with short stories, many of them featuring older characters. It was during a residency at The Bundanon Trust, courtesy of the Fellowship of Australian Writers, that she began work on the novel that would become her debut, The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.
She firmly believes that retirement requires preparation and planning. It is a process rather than a fixed point in time, much as a marriage is more than a wedding. These sentiments shine through in her latest book Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year.
As well as being a very enjoyable and humorous read, this story, like all her books, has much to tell the older reader about how to live a happy retirement.
Mrs Winterbottom takes a Gap Year
(2023)
by Joanna Nell
Hachette Australia
ISBN:978-0-7336-4904-2
$32.99;336pp