Description
Description
A skilled writer, Reardon makes Amelia a witty guide through the drama and pain. As a former mental health therapist, she infuses the book with a passion for recovery and appreciation of life. Her background brings bona fides to an expansive, engrossing novel. It's an involving, well-written debut. -Kirkus
A book for anyone who has ever had to rebuild, one brick at a time, while learning to live in their own skin. Themes of autonomy, self-confidence, and love as action anchor this moving tale. -Independent Book Review
Amelia Glickman has it all: a trust fund, a shiny red Range Rover, a serious equestrian hobby, and a brand-new house on Wethersfield Road. But lurking in the basement of her existence is the ache of depression and the torment of life as an addict. At least she has her besties by her side: a bottle and a bong, the binge-purge cycle, and risky hookups. She's the cross-faded chaos queen of nobody's dreams.
Despite feeling utterly lost, a deeply meaningful bond with her horse, Hope, seems to be the only reason for Amelia's will to live. Yet she gradually deteriorates in her self-imposed thousand-thread-count holding cell on Wethersfield Road. After a shameful series of unfortunate events-including domestic violence, cringeworthy sexual exploits, and everything in between-a brutal equine wake-up call propels Amelia on a journey to save herself in the way only she can.
As Amelia begins to sift through her designer brand piles of emotional baggage, a life worth living seems to blossom right before her eyes. If only she can resist her default setting: self-sabotage. Although she attributes the void in her chest to life circumstances like her parents' divorce and her botched Hollywood dreams, the truth is that she has felt completely defective from the very beginning. The island of misfit toys promises salvation, if only she can finally allow herself to be part of something.
Through a special connection with animals and nature, her willingness to be broken and brave at the same time, and the essence of the new house itself, she ventures into the real world, stumbling blindly through early sobriety, in search of a happily ever after that's somewhat serene.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
A skilled writer, Reardon makes Amelia a witty guide through the drama and pain. A former mental health therapist, Reardon infuses the book with a passion for recovery and appreciation of life. Her background brings bona fides to an expansive, engrossing novel. It's an involving, well-written debut. -Kirkus
Reardon's courageous, unfiltered story about addiction and mental health is a triumph of recovery, certain to inspire anyone struggling with similar challenges. -Karen S. Gordon, author of The Mutiny Girl, Gold & Courage Series
Hopeful, introspective, and lyrical-a work of literary realism tinged with the grit of recovery. A strong debut with real emotional honesty and a protagonist whose flaws are heartbreakingly human. A book for anyone who has ever had to rebuild, one brick at a time, while learning to live in their own skin. Themes of autonomy, self-confidence, and love as action anchor this moving tale. -Independent Book Review
If you've ever battled your own demons, numbed the ache, or longed for redemption in the wreckage, this book will feel like someone finally wrote your secret diary out loud. Being a recovering addict myself, Amelia's chaos feels like a familiar mirror, her self-sabotage too close to home - but so does her fight to crawl out. -Cyn Posner, author of Escape to Mexico
Wethersfield Road has the power of optimism. It's Kristin Hannah mixed with the raw openness of Margo's Got Money Troubles with a heavy dose of non-preachy self-help. Much like Hope and Amelia, I feel like this book found me. This book left me with so many lessons and strategies for doing the best I possibly can to make my own life extraordinary by finding beauty in the ordinary. -Jess Ross, Bookstagram
Such a moving, down-to-earth read. Reardon captures the ups and downs of healing in a way that feels so real- messy, funny, emotional, and full of hope. I couldn't put it down-raw, compassionate, and ultimately uplifting. - Jennifer Rollin, LCSW eating disorder therapist, co-author of The Inside Scoop on Eating Disorder Recovery
Beautiful and healing. It's a story of hope and love. -Kelsey Johnson, Booktok
Filled with reflective moments that offer hope and joy in a world of despair, Wethersfield Road examines wealth from a myriad of different directions. It's an evocative novel about riches, transformation, and self-defeating manners. Reardon paints the life of a woman who simultaneously has everything and nothing. The darkness that emerges so realistically in Amelia's life is juxtaposed by moments of realization, discovery, and enlightenment that send her into unexpected directions and positive ways of approaching life. Underneath a façade of riches lies a powerful force for her recovery and change. It wells up like tears to transform Amelia's life in unexpected ways, despite her proclivity for self-destruction. Compelling, realistic, and thought-provoking, all in one. -Midwest Book Review
Anna Binder Reardon is a literary mastermind; captivating, intriguing, and breathtaking. -Jen Beach, Booktok
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
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