Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year meets The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Where'd You Go Bernadette in this witty novel about coming of (middle) age and discovering that you don't have to be who you've become.

How hard can it be to find a pair of Bollywood-dancing septuagenarians?

When Eva Moore wakes up on her fiftieth birthday, her drab middle-class life immediately starts to unravel. First, she receives an anonymous Facebook message claiming her husband is having an affair. Next, she is restructured out of her job by her obnoxiously young boss. Then, just when she thinks her life can't get any worse, her elderly parents wilfully go missing from their group tour of India. All they've left behind is an increasingly bizarre series of TikTok videos.

Eager to put some distance between herself and her failing marriage, Eva undertakes a rescue mission, determined to save her parents from certain disaster. She wants to find them. But what Eva really needs is to find herself. If she can do that, she might get a second chance at life and love—and, along the way, become an inspiration to anyone who fears their best days are behind them ...

Witty, warm and acutely observed—a book club book from an extraordinary new Australian voice about taking life, and adventure, by the horns. A funny, defiant shout into the face of society's expectations around ageing.

PRAISE:

'Eva Reddy took me on a wild, comical ride through India with a dash of romance on the side as she discovered friends and family may shape our lives but being true to yourself is the most important thing. I loved being along for the journey.'—Tricia Stringer, bestselling Australian author

'Fiona has taken the gritty challenges of infidelity, middle age, dementia, unemployment - not to mention traveling in India—and wrapped them up in a charming fairytale that tells you all is not lost.'—Tracy Grimshaw

'An important message delivered with humour and warmth. So much I could relate to!'—Tracy Bowden

'It's a funny, irreverent rollick, filled with likeable crazies. Proof that you really can 'kickstart' life—at any age—as long as you're a certain kind of woman.'—Ray Martin

'Every serious journalist thinks they will one day write a book—most don't. Fiona continues to demonstrates that she has not only the skill, but the drive and courage to write very clever fiction. Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime is a terrific holiday read.'—Sandra Odorisio