The Wish List

<p><strong>Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can float to the top.</strong></p><p><strong>Maria Birch</strong> is seventy years old and for her every week is the same.</p><p>On Monday she does her weekly shop. On Tuesday she goes for a blow-dry. On Wednesday she visits the laundrette. But Thursday is her favourite day of all – everything hurts less on a Thursday.</p><p>Every Thursday Maria walks to her local café. Waiting for her at one of the red gingham-topped tables is <strong>Albie Young</strong> a charming man with a twinkle in his eye and an impressive collection of tweed flat caps. Every week the pair share a slice of marble cake and a pot of tea.</p><p>Except one week Albie doesn’t turn up.</p><p>When Maria finds out what has happened her perfectly ordered life is ripped apart at the seams. Suddenly she is very lonely. Without her Thursday friend – her only friend – she no longer has the energy to circle the weekly TV listings she has no reason to leave her apartment no reason to laugh.</p><p>Then she discovers that Albie isn’t who she thought he was and she’s left wondering if she knew her friend at all. But Albie has left behind a legacy – a handwritten list of wishes he never got the chance to complete.</p><p>Maria is resigned to facing the rest of her days heartbroken and alone. But fulfilling Albie’s wishes could hold the key to her happiness – if only she’s able to look past his secret…</p><p><strong>This life-affirming and heartfelt tale is for anyone who has ever looked at their life and wanted <em>more</em>. Fans of <em>Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</em> and <em>The Keeper of Lost Things</em> will love this poignant story which shows us that for the truest loves the end is never really the end…</strong></p>