Spotlight on Anstey Harris’ THE MUSEUM OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES

At Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World, where the animals never age but time takes its toll, one woman must find the courage to overcome the greatest loss of her life.

Cate Morris never expected to meet the love of her life, Richard, while on a date with his best friend. Despite an awkward start, the pair had a blissful marriage—until Richard began to fade away before Cate’s eyes. Boisterous and bright, he felt the weight of the world more deeply than most, his thoughts clouded by depression.

Four years after Richard’s suicide, Cate is emotionally raw—from the guilt, the anger, the sadness, but mostly, the loneliness. Laid off from her job, Cate and Leo, her energetic 19-year-old son with Down syndrome, seek temporary refuge in Richard’s birthright, a magnificent Victorian museum, where long-kept secrets await.

Notwithstanding an unpleasant start with Araminta Buchan, the old family retainer, Cate is soon charmed by the peculiar menagerie and senses Richard’s presence everywhere. Cate and Araminta have long been weighted down by a responsibility of care—one to a fading husband, the other to a Downton-esque dwelling—both bound to duty by love. Resolving to save the forgotten museum, the pair face unexpected threats, forcing Cate to confront the reality of Richard’s death in order to reimagine her future.

 Perfect for fans of Katherine Center and Evvie Drake Starts Over, THE MUSEUM OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES grapples with life’s heaviest burdens, all the while offering an unexpected tale of hope and wonder.

 

About Anstey Harris

Anstey Harris is based by the seaside in south-east England where she lives with her violinmaker husband and two dogs. She teaches creative writing in the community, local schools, and as an associate lecturer for Christchurch University in Canterbury.

Anstey writes about the things that make people tick, the things that bind us and the things that can rip us apart. In 2015, she won the H G Wells Short Story Prize for her story, Ruby. In novels, Anstey tries to celebrate uplifting ideas and prove that life is good and that happiness is available to everyone once we work out where to look (usually inside ourselves). Her short stories tend not to end quite so well...

Things that interest Anstey include her children and granddaughter, green issues and conservation, adoption and adoption reunion (she is an adopted child, born in an unmarried mothers' home in Liverpool in 1965), stepfamilies, dogs, and food. Always food. She would love to be on Masterchef but would never recover from the humiliation if she got sent home in the first round.

 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.