What a delightful read! I would walk with Harold Fry anywhere. Harold Fry, age 65, recently retired, lives in a small English village,with his wife Maureen. He receives a letter from a former co-worker, Queenie Hennessey, who he hasn't seen in 20 years, notifying him that she is dying of cancer. She is writing to say good bye.
Harold writes a brief letter in response, tells his wife good bye and leaves to mail the letter.While walking, he decides he is going to journey 600 miles, to greet her in person, which he believes will 'save her'.
It all seems absurd but, is it really? That's a question I kept asking myself throughout the book. And why not? Harold convinces himself as well as everyone he meets, that as long as he walks, Queenie will stay alive. Its the power of positive thinking exaggerated to the 1000th degree and I loved it!
Harold's wife Maureen, is passive and irritable, and slowly begins to miss him, as Harold checks in with her periodically, throughout the journey. Along the way, Harold reminisces about regrets, mishaps, pleasures, losses and shares unexpected, and interesting tales. Harold meets a variety of characters, some respond with support, others are amused.
He does arrive before Queenie dies, and he walks to her bedside. "He reached for her hand. Her fingers were fragile, barely flesh at all. They curled imperceptibly and touched his. He smiled."
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