Beth Morrey
Author of Saving Missy
Works by Beth Morrey
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Saving Missy is a poignant and heartwarming debut novel from Beth Morrey about ageing, loss, friendship, and forgiveness.
Seventy-nine year old Millicent ‘Missy’ Carmichael lives in a large, spartan home in central London. Her husband, Leo, is gone, her son, Alistair, his wife and her beloved grandson, Arthur, have emigrated to Australia, and she hasn’t spoken to her daughter, Melanie, in almost a year. Having devoted her life to her family, she now finds herself alone, and lonely, show more dwelling on the mistakes of her past, relieved only by a ‘sip’ of sherry.
“Sometimes the loneliness was overpowering. Not just the immediate loneliness of living in a huge house on my own, loved ones far away, but a more abstract, galactic isolation, like a leaking boat bobbing in open water, no anchor or land in sight.“
It’s an awkward encounter at the local park with a warm and friendly women named Sylvie, and Angela, a young, extroverted and opinionated woman with a young son, Otis, that begins to coax a reluctant Missy into the world, and a dog named Bob in need of a home who yanks her into it.
“So here we are: the old biddy, the single mother, the superhero and the adopted mongrel…”
Morrey’s portrait of Missy is well crafted and developed. Initially, Missy comes across as an unpleasant, judgemental, ‘fuddy-duddy’, but it becomes clear that her attitude is a result of her own insecurities, a touch of anxiety and depression, and a guilty secret that has festered for decades. Her reminisces appear to confirm that this has been a life long issue for her, and matters have only worsened as she has aged, and finally left with only her own thoughts for company.
“Perhaps I’d said something at the lunch that she objected to? She was very left-wing. Or perhaps it was something I hadn’t said? I had no witty anecdotes, knew none of the mutual acquaintances they’d discussed, and most of all I was so old, so jaundiced – who would want to be friends with me?”
The author successfully evokes a range of emotions for Missy, from dislike to pity to admiration as Missy begins to confront her past, and her future. Sylvia and Angela are both delightful in their own way, but it’s Bob that comes close to stealing the ‘show’.
“My Bobby, the dog I didn’t want, didn’t own, but who was truly mine in a way that no one else ever had been.”
Though I thought the pace was a little slow during the first half of the novel, and the storyline didn’t really offer any surprises, Saving Missy definitely has its charms.
An uplifting reminder of how vital connection and acceptance are to us all, the benefits of unconditional companionship and love from a pet, and that age is no barrier to enjoying either, Saving Missy is an engaging and thoughtful novel show less
Seventy-nine year old Millicent ‘Missy’ Carmichael lives in a large, spartan home in central London. Her husband, Leo, is gone, her son, Alistair, his wife and her beloved grandson, Arthur, have emigrated to Australia, and she hasn’t spoken to her daughter, Melanie, in almost a year. Having devoted her life to her family, she now finds herself alone, and lonely, show more dwelling on the mistakes of her past, relieved only by a ‘sip’ of sherry.
“Sometimes the loneliness was overpowering. Not just the immediate loneliness of living in a huge house on my own, loved ones far away, but a more abstract, galactic isolation, like a leaking boat bobbing in open water, no anchor or land in sight.“
It’s an awkward encounter at the local park with a warm and friendly women named Sylvie, and Angela, a young, extroverted and opinionated woman with a young son, Otis, that begins to coax a reluctant Missy into the world, and a dog named Bob in need of a home who yanks her into it.
“So here we are: the old biddy, the single mother, the superhero and the adopted mongrel…”
Morrey’s portrait of Missy is well crafted and developed. Initially, Missy comes across as an unpleasant, judgemental, ‘fuddy-duddy’, but it becomes clear that her attitude is a result of her own insecurities, a touch of anxiety and depression, and a guilty secret that has festered for decades. Her reminisces appear to confirm that this has been a life long issue for her, and matters have only worsened as she has aged, and finally left with only her own thoughts for company.
“Perhaps I’d said something at the lunch that she objected to? She was very left-wing. Or perhaps it was something I hadn’t said? I had no witty anecdotes, knew none of the mutual acquaintances they’d discussed, and most of all I was so old, so jaundiced – who would want to be friends with me?”
The author successfully evokes a range of emotions for Missy, from dislike to pity to admiration as Missy begins to confront her past, and her future. Sylvia and Angela are both delightful in their own way, but it’s Bob that comes close to stealing the ‘show’.
“My Bobby, the dog I didn’t want, didn’t own, but who was truly mine in a way that no one else ever had been.”
Though I thought the pace was a little slow during the first half of the novel, and the storyline didn’t really offer any surprises, Saving Missy definitely has its charms.
An uplifting reminder of how vital connection and acceptance are to us all, the benefits of unconditional companionship and love from a pet, and that age is no barrier to enjoying either, Saving Missy is an engaging and thoughtful novel show less
'Saving Missy' is a feel-good book that has some great insights into being old, some well-drawn characters, and a way of telling Missy's story that creates suspense about what will happen next and deepens understanding with every revelation about Missy's past.
It's full of closely observed details of what it is like to be old and lonely and set in your ways. It shows how small your life can become and how hard that is to change. It understands that your past is important, it has shaped who show more you are, but it can't sustain you forever. Even for those of us who are naturally solitary, loneliness is a predator that feeds on your self-confidence and impedes your joy.
I liked the writing. The opening paragraphs of the book won me over not only because they resonated as being true but because they got that truth across with such a light touch. Here they are:
It was bitterly cold, the day of the fish-stunning. So bitter that I nearly didn’t go to watch. Lying in bed that morning, gazing at the wall since the early hours, I’d never felt more ancient, nor more apathetic. So why, in the end, did I roll over and ease those shrivelled feet of mine into my new sheepskin slippers? A vague curiosity, maybe – one had to clutch on to that last vestige of an enquiring mind, stop it slipping away.
Still in my dressing gown, I shuffled about the kitchen making tea and looking at my emails to see if there were any from Alistair. Well, my son was busy, no doubt, with his fieldwork. Those slippers he bought me for Christmas were cosy in the morning chill. There was a message from my daughter Melanie but it was only to tell me about a documentary she thought I might like. She often mistook her father’s tastes for mine. I ate dry toast and brooded over my last conversation with her and for a second bristles of shame itched at the back of my neck. It felt easier to ignore it, so instead I read the newspapers online and saw that David Bowie had died.
At my age, reading obituaries is a generational hazard, contemporaries dropping off, one by one; each announcement an empty chamber in my own little revolver. Morrey, Beth (2020-02-05T22:58:59). Saving Missy: The Sunday Times bestseller and the most heartwarming debut fiction novel of 2021. HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The thing I found myself less comfortable with was the purposefully uplifting nature of the book. It had about it the feeling of a romance written with a happily ever after ending in mind. Missy faced difficulties and experienced fear and grief and anger and regret, none of which was sugar-coated, but, as the title suggested, in the end, she was 'saved', not, in the traditional romance way. by a handsome age-appropriate male entering her life but by the friendship of two women, the love of a dog and the kindness of strangers. And that's the part that kept pushing me out of the story. I'd like the world to work that way and I was genuinely pleased for Missy but I couldn't make myself believe it. It seemed to me that there must have been a fairy godmother hovering somewhere off-camera, granting Missy's wishes.
Suspension of disbelief is a necessary part of reading fiction. 'Saving Missy' put my ability to suspend disbelief under significant strain. That's no criticism of Beth Morray's writing. I think it tells me something about myself that I can easily suspend disbelief to accept the existence of werewolves, of faster-than-light space travel and of detectives with an uncanny ability to live in the mind of a psychopathic serial killer, but I struggle to accept good things happening to an elderly woman because the people around her are nice. I think part of my problem was that the people and the situations were ones that I recognised but the outcomes bordered on winning the lottery - twice.
Even with its fairytale trappings, I enjoyed 'Saving Missy' and I'm looking forward to reading Beth Morray's second novel, 'Em and Me' when it comes out in a few days time. show less
Em & Me is Beth Morrey's second novel. Despite having a lovely hardback copy of Saving Missy on my TBR pile I have yet to pick it up and I'm feeling rather annoyed with myself about it as Em & Me is absolutely wonderful and beautifully written, with characters and settings that leap right off the page.
The 'Me' is Delphine Jones. Her beloved French mother died when she was 13 and her life consists of herself, her clever daughter Em, and her father who is still struggling with his grief. To show more say their life is hard is an understatement but Delphine is proud and determined to cope. There's a big difference between surviving and thriving though and what was so special about this book was witnessing the awakening that Delphine experiences as she gradually realises her life can be so much more.
The characterisations in this book are superb and three-dimensional. As Delphine narrates her story we are able to see how each character helps to effect the change in her. New friends bring her out of herself, get her singing, playing music, and learning again after giving up so much when she had Em. I loved all the characters but I had a real soft spot for Letty, an elderly woman whom Em speaks French with, and who was hilariously acerbic whilst also giving Delphine some much needed self-confidence. This is very much a story of female strength, both the inner strength that Delphine must find everyday, and the strength her new friendships provide.
Em & Me is completely and utterly glorious, and I didn't want to put it down. I was enthralled from start to finish, thoroughly immersed in Delphine's life and her world. I think this is the kind of story that, when done well, is unforgettable, and that's what Em & Me is for me. I want to step inside the book, be a part of Delphine's new circle of friends, go to the jazz nights at Merhaba - the café where she works and now performs, meet Dylan from her band and his dog, Bernadette, and sit around a piano with her, her father and Em. I adored this uplifting, inspiring and joyous book. show less
The 'Me' is Delphine Jones. Her beloved French mother died when she was 13 and her life consists of herself, her clever daughter Em, and her father who is still struggling with his grief. To show more say their life is hard is an understatement but Delphine is proud and determined to cope. There's a big difference between surviving and thriving though and what was so special about this book was witnessing the awakening that Delphine experiences as she gradually realises her life can be so much more.
The characterisations in this book are superb and three-dimensional. As Delphine narrates her story we are able to see how each character helps to effect the change in her. New friends bring her out of herself, get her singing, playing music, and learning again after giving up so much when she had Em. I loved all the characters but I had a real soft spot for Letty, an elderly woman whom Em speaks French with, and who was hilariously acerbic whilst also giving Delphine some much needed self-confidence. This is very much a story of female strength, both the inner strength that Delphine must find everyday, and the strength her new friendships provide.
Em & Me is completely and utterly glorious, and I didn't want to put it down. I was enthralled from start to finish, thoroughly immersed in Delphine's life and her world. I think this is the kind of story that, when done well, is unforgettable, and that's what Em & Me is for me. I want to step inside the book, be a part of Delphine's new circle of friends, go to the jazz nights at Merhaba - the café where she works and now performs, meet Dylan from her band and his dog, Bernadette, and sit around a piano with her, her father and Em. I adored this uplifting, inspiring and joyous book. show less
Isabella’s Not Dead: From the Sunday Times bestselling author, the most funny, uplifting, life-affirming novel of 2025 by Beth Morrey
Sometimes you lose touch with friends and you don't exactly know why. That's what happened with Gwen and her best friend, Isabella. Fifteen years ago they went their separate ways at the end of an evening out and never spoke again. A school hockey team reunion makes Gwen wonder what happened to Isabella and why she ghosted Gwen all those years ago. She starts to make some enquiries and investigate but it's not easy as Isabella seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.
This is such show more a great read. It's funny and light-hearted but it's also a moving story of friendship and solidarity. Gwen has a calamitous air about her as she veers around Yorkshire, Edinburgh and Rome, crashing into people's lives, questioning them and looking for clues. There's a nice sense of a mystery unfolding and I didn't guess the reason for the ghosting which was really quite unexpected as I was wondering what could be a good enough reason for the friends to lose touch. Gwen makes mosaics from shattered crockery and I thought this was a great metaphor for the shattered friendship, with Gwen desperately trying to put the shards back together.
Isabella's Not Dead is a really lovely story, easy to read and written with humour and empathy, and I loved all the characters, some of whom were seriously wacky! I found it totally enjoyable from start to finish. show less
This is such show more a great read. It's funny and light-hearted but it's also a moving story of friendship and solidarity. Gwen has a calamitous air about her as she veers around Yorkshire, Edinburgh and Rome, crashing into people's lives, questioning them and looking for clues. There's a nice sense of a mystery unfolding and I didn't guess the reason for the ghosting which was really quite unexpected as I was wondering what could be a good enough reason for the friends to lose touch. Gwen makes mosaics from shattered crockery and I thought this was a great metaphor for the shattered friendship, with Gwen desperately trying to put the shards back together.
Isabella's Not Dead is a really lovely story, easy to read and written with humour and empathy, and I loved all the characters, some of whom were seriously wacky! I found it totally enjoyable from start to finish. show less
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