The Garden of Hopes and Dreams by the award-winning novelist, Barbara Hannay, is her tenth novel, a heartwarming story of discovering love, friendship and the joy of rooftop gardening.
Vera Challinor, now widowed, feels she has been banished from her former, longtime home on Jindabilla Station to the top floor of the Riverview apartment block in unfamiliar Brisbane. Supposedly for her health and closer medical facilities, Vera, approaching 70, feels fit and quite healthy, thank you!
Maddie, who lives on the first floor and has so far experienced a disastrous love life, has been taken under the wing(s) of Joe and Dennis, who live two floors above. She has high hopes for their suggestion of online dating.
Ned Marlowe, the other resident of the top floor, and a somewhat reclusive scientist has an interest in worm farms and bee hives!
Carmen Cassidy on the first floor is an artist and so much more!
Jock, a caretaker for the building, has a secret ambition.
Each shut behind their closed doors, they know nothing of their neighbours’ turbulent lives, loves lost and failed dreams.
When the suggestion of a communal rooftop garden is put forward there is no interest. Additionally, permission would need to be sought from the Body Corporate!
Against all odds, however, as the residents begin to plant and produce, so their relationships grow and connections are made that will fulfil their lives as they never would have imagined.
This is a wonderful inspirational story of the joy of connecting with neighbours to share the pleasures of communal gardening.
There is not only the satisfaction of producing flowers, fruit and vegetables, but also the sharing of knowledge, friendship, and celebration of all those things.
This contentment is then passed on to family and friends, forming closer bonds with those who were feared lost.
A marvellous, feel-good read for the year.
ISBN: 9781760899417
The Garden of Hopes and Dreams is available in paperback, e-book and audiobook.
About Barbara Hannay
Barbara Hannay writes women’s fiction, with over twelve million books sold worldwide. Her novels set in Australia have been translated into twenty-six languages, and she has won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA award and been shortlisted five times. Two of Barbara’s novels have also won the Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year award. Barbara lives in Townsville with her writer husband and enjoys being close to the Coral Sea, the stunning tropical scenery and colourful characters, all of which find their way into her popular stories.
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