Publication Day Review ~ One Foot in Front of the Other by Sue Woolley

 

Headline Accent
1 October 2020

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Since being widowed, Claire's life has been simple. She drives to work and comes home. She prepares meals for the week ahead. She feeds the cat. She drinks two bottles of wine . . .

But one morning, Claire wakes up with no memory of the night before. What did she do? Even worse, what did she say to Philip - her oldest friend?

Deciding to give up alcohol is easy. However, Claire soon finds that the path to sobriety is an uphill struggle, and when she and Philip embark on the adventure of a lifetime, she soon comes to realise that the end of one road is only the beginning of another . . .

Can Claire learn to trust in love again - and will she ever trust herself?

What did I think about it...

Just in time for Sober October this lovely story looks at the difficulty of giving up alcohol when you know you drink too much and yet don't want to acknowledge that you might have a little bit of a problem.

Claire has faced some real difficulties, learning to adjust to life as a widow, the sadness of being suddenly alone, and finding that a glass of her favourite red wine helps her to get through the lonesomeness but when one glass of red in the evening insidiously becomes a bottle, and then two bottles, Claire's wake up call is both timely and embarrassing.

What then follows is the story of how Claire attempts to give up alcohol and in the process finds out rather more about herself in the process as she discovers that by opening up her life to new challenges she finds that everything, eventually, becomes much clearer.

On Foot in Front of the Other is a lovely story which feels very modern. I especially enjoyed how the author included the help Claire received from joining a Facebook group and how such online support networks can really help. Giving up anything, not just alcohol, isn't easy, and this story shows just what difficulties and challenges Claire faced in the process. There was a Christian feel to the novel as Claire turns towards her church for support and companionship, and this is blended very nicely into the narrative. 

Parts of the story made me smile and I really warmed to Claire's character and wanted everything to work out for her, I was also thrilled to find that Baggins, Claire's cat, has an internal clock rather like Jaffa's, as he too always knows, to the minute, when it's time for a meal 😊

About the Author

Sue Woolley is District Minister for the Unitarian Association, and has written two non-fiction titles: Gems for the Journey and Unitarians: Together in Diversity. One Foot in Front of the Other is her first novel, and she is currently working on the first part of a three-volume fantasy series. In her spare time, she enjoys walking in nature, cross-stitch and crochet. She lives in Northamptonshire.

Twitter @SueWoolley #OneFootinFrontoftheOther

@AccentPress

Amazon UK