Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander – 368 pages

ARC from Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for an honest review 

Book Blurb:

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander: She has a full-time remote job and her rescue cat Fred. Her best friend Sadie visits with her two children.  There’s her online support group, her jigsaw puzzles and favorite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the grocery delivery man.  Also keeping her company are treacherous memories of an unstable childhood, the estrangement from her sister, and a traumatic event that had sent her reeling.  But something’s about to change. Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door.   Does she have the courage to overcome what’s been keeping her inside all this time?

My Review: 4 stars

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Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander packed a serious punch when it comes to agoraphobia and the relationships the protagonist creates and mends while exiled in her home. This book is told in day-to-day segments as we see Meredith make strides forward as well as some steps backward in her ability to progress. 

Meredith, once a confident and happy young woman, became a victim of trauma that led her to having major PTSD and only feeling safe in her own home. When she makes a friend on the internet, has a weekly visitor come to her home and multiple visits with her best friend, she begins to set small goals to further her healing.  

Honestly, the book had such a great cast of characters, most were likable, but the two most important people in her life, her mom and her sister, were not. We see some growth with one of them but the other is just awful. It broke my heart that Meredith suffered as she did but like all good fiction, things have a way of working out. There was some serious baking in this book and I loved how that connected her with people on the outside. 

Meredith is a character to root for and appreciate. The author allowed the reader to get inside the head of someone who is struggling with such a difficult phobia. The ending was satisfying and just enough tidy to make me happy. 

Quotes I liked:

It feels adventurous to deviate from my list.”

“You can’t compare yourself to any else. What happened to you was awful. End of story. There’s no hierarchy of abuse. Trauma is complex, and very personal. I’m here to support you through your individual experience – whatever that is.”

“In Japan the kanji characters for the four iconic trees that flower during springtime (cherry, plum, peach and apricot) create the concept of oubaitori. In Japanese philosophy it’s the art of never comparing yourself to others, but recognizing value in your own unique character.”