The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club

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QandA with Louise Davidson author of #TheFortunesOfOliviaRichmond | @LouiseDWriter | @moonflowerbooks

Although there were a few minor characters, the real story is the friendship between Elizabeth and Jo. Be prepared to read this book with a box of tissues, but also, to laugh out loud and cheer for them all. Lucy has recently returned to the West of Ireland, with her son, intending it to be temporary, but the pull of home is strong, and she soon finds herself becoming a vital part of the community. This book focuses on three wonderful women, all at different stages in their lives. Jo is a lover of sea swimming, a brave thing to do in Ireland, and even more unusually, she likes to swim at night. Elizabeth finds herself persuaded to join Jo, and they find healing and comfort in this ritual.All the characters are going through, and have gone through, immense change in their lives, and have a lot to deal with. There’s a very strong sense of community and friendship in this book.

Faith Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of six contemporary fiction novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel good and inspiring. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining! In the midst of her grief for her husband, Eric, Elizabeth starts to sort through some of his papers and makes an unexpected discovery. Eric was the local GP for a number of years, with Elizabeth and himself living in his rambling family home. Elizabeth had experienced a difficult and challenging marriage but she was very unprepared for the overwhelming discovery that Eric had left her in financial ruin. With a rambling old house, and a GP practice without a GP, Elizabeth has life-changing decisions to make as she embraces the next stage in her life. I saw the writing on the wall for one subplot from early on in the novel, making it all too neat, but then I thought, Why Not? Jo is an older lady who has lived in the tiny Irish village of Ballycove all her life. She is alone and looking frail but she is the heart of the community and always offering to help others, including Elizabeth as she has a suggestion. Her daughter Lucy is a doctor.

I loved this read. It warmed my heart, and made my eyes well with tears. Yes, tissues are mandatory. I loved the way Elizabeth's character grew and strengthened, and Jo, what can I say about Jo? If I am ever in her position I only hope that I have her strength of character. It's a story about friendship, family, village community, and finding the truth about oneself in an unexpected place. And the title... swimming in a cold Irish sea with your friends sounds like a dream to me. Set in a small coastal Irish town, The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club is told from multiple perspectives. There's Elizabeth, whose life feels like it's only just beginning following the death of her husband. There's her best friend Jo, whose daughter Lucy and son Niall visit from Dublin. Lucy agrees to help at Elizabeth's late husband's GP clinic and in the interim becomes a founding member of The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club alongside Jo and Elizabeth. Finally, there's Dan, a visiting writer from London who's come to Ballycove to finally discover where his life began.

She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She's a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger - except of course when it is raining! THE LADIES MIDNIGHT SWIMMING CLUB is an inspiring tale of friendship, fortitude, and resilience. The setting is delightfully picturesque, with the golden sand beaches of Ireland’s west Atlantic coast, where a midnight dip in the frigid waters creates a bond and heals more than one troubled soul. Dan, a writer in search for answers comes to the small Irish coastal town and discovers much more than he ever could have hoped for.I’m sorry, Lucy, but consider yourself stepping into the TARDIS and re-emerging somewhere in the early 1970s. Ladies midnight swimming club is a beautifully written heart-wrenching, memorable book about love, friendships and regaining oneself. I won't be forgetting this one.