Meredith has not left her home in over 3 years. While she never leaves her home, Meredith has carved a routine for her life. She works from home, finds hobbies to keep herself entertained, has a friend who visits her regularly, and her cat Fred that keeps her company. Meredith is content with her life, but when her online therapist starts encouraging Meredith to find ways to step outside, Meredith wonders if she can find the way to move forward.

You alternate between Meredith's past and present as you make your way through the book. In her past you see Meredith and her sister and their life growing up with their mother, who was emotionally abusive. In her present time, you see Meredith go through her daily routines and see her make some new friends with Celester, who she meets in an online support group, and then with Tom who visits from an organization to offer friendship for those in need. I enjoyed seeing Meredith and her friendships with Sadie, Celeste, and Tom. While each help Meredith in their own way. I also loved Meredith's cat Fred who offers her daily companionship.

As you learn more about Meredith's past you learn what ultimately led up to her keeping herself in isolation. Meredith did not have an easy time growing up and it was hard to see what she endured. While she had a hard past, as time goes on, Meredith finds comfort in her friends as she slowly heals and moves at her own pace to take a step forward.

This was a quick enjoyable read that has some hard-hitting moments as well as some lighthearted.

Very engaging story right from the beginning! It covers so many topics and deep emotional situations and it's written in such a light, enjoyable way. You will find yourself engaged and rooting for the characters. This book made me want to read til the end. Loved it. Recommend.

This book has received many excellent reviews; if readers do not know it already, now would be a good time to take a look.

Changes are about to come Meredith’s way. Readers will be hoping that she will embrace them and find a happy ending after her three years of staying inside. Meredith has kept busy; after all, she has her job, her feline, her on-line support group, and her hobbies. But, could there be more for Meredith than friends who come to her? Could she make it outside again?

Readers learn that Meredith suffered trauma earlier in her life. How will she move past (or through) this? What will happen when a relative gets in touch? Will Meredith move forward? No spoiler, so read this Glasgow based story to find out. It is a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

I have really mixed felling about Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander. It's well written, with fleshed out characters all around, including the ones you don't like, and the storytelling is strong. The story is written from the point of view of Meredith, a 40-something single woman who hasn't left her home in well over 1200 days. It moves back and forth through time, moving from her present experiences to flashbacks of events that have led up to her current inability to leave her house, or to allow more than a few select people inside. Meredith's growth involved overcoming abuse in multiple forms, family strife, and her sense that she'll remain safe as long as she's inside her home, her sanctuary. The descriptions of her experiences are vivid enough, strong without too much detail to hold back my emotional response, that it was hard to get through some of it, even knowing that she was moving forward and away from those times in her life. Meredith grows through and beyond all the muck in her past in a believable way, dealing with setbacks and surges forward as happens in real life. In short, it's a very well written book, and I recommending keeping it on the shelf until you're ready to deal with heavy content that evokes significant feeling.

OMG!! This book made so emotional, in a good. I love a book that gives me all the feels. Meredith is sensitive, emotional, tortured and so many things and I can completely understand her struggles with her past. I feel her self-isolation by choice is a defense mechanism so to keep her from making the same mistake but also a way of punishing herself for her past.

I did not expect to like or enjoy this book as much as I did but this book surprised me. Meredith as a character and her story was just too good! Definitely a recommended read.

If Claire Alexander writes another book, I hope it is good as this one.

Thanks to Claire Alexander, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

This was heartwrenching and I really felt for Meredith. However, I think this maybe would've been better as a novella? While I love a slow-moving, character driven story, I don't know that I needed it to be almost 400 pages.

This was an ARC so I hope it doesn’t change as this was an enlightening story. Meredith is anything but alone. Her support system allows her to make friends and grow beyond all the traumatic events of her past. The basis of this story is how do you cope with something so tragic when those closest to you don’t believe you and the love of your best friend helps you through it. We all cope differently and I’d hope if faced with similar challenges I’d rise above and be like Meredith as she is strong and amazing and spectacular.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity of reading Meredith, Alone.

The book was incredible and I applaud Claire for creating a charater and story that is so relatable. I can't wait to see what Claire writes next!

A satisfying, well-paced story about friendship, healing from trauma, forgiveness, and the ways connecting with others inspires us to grow and change.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

An emotional, gripping story that covers so many topics and deep subjects but tells it in such a light, enjoyable way. You find yourself really feeling and rooting for the characters and this book definitely made me feel all the feels. Loved it.

This is such a sweet, heartfelt, character-driven story that tackles some difficult topics in a sensitive and gentle way. I really rooted for Meredith, and for those around her, and I think this story has the potential to offer hope to people who might be struggling. I think that this book offers a great reminder that we are so much more than our circumstances, that our struggles don’t define us, even if it means we don’t leave our house for 1200+ days like Meredith. I recommend this book for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for this arc. This book is available now!

🐈 Emotionally heavy topics
🐈 Focus on mental illness, anxiety, agoraphobia
🐈 Alternating timeline
🐈 Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I was a bit nervous going into this as I had heard from a lot of other readers that this story was emotionally heavy and while that is true, I am so glad I finally picked this up!

Meredith, who suffers from debilitating anxiety, has not left her home in 1,214 days. Alternating between present day and flashbacks leading up to the traumatic event that propelled her into this state, the story follows Meredith’s path to recovery and the people who help her along the way.

Alexander did a wonderful job exploring generational trauma, as well as the nuances of a relationship between sisters who both share complex but differing experiences with their abusive mother. I particularly enjoyed following Meredith’s developing friendships with Tom and Celeste, which at times provided levity to an otherwise dark story.

I think there was room for more focus on Fee and Meredith healing their relationship; what was portrayed in the book was a bit surface level for the shared trauma that they endured. I also felt as though the ending was quite abrupt and found myself thinking that the ARC I read had maybe been cut off, but upon reading the finished library copy, I confirmed that was the true ending—it just felt a bit rushed to me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really hoping to like this one more. It reminded me of "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" at first. But by the middle I was skimming scenes. Meredith doesn't seem like to even be the main character in her own story. I was intrigued by the premise, but then become bored. I think the book needed more/better/tighter editing. Prose itself was fine, but the characters and plot were lacking.

Merdith, Alone by Claire Alexander
What a wonderful book! It was emotional and sad, yet uplifting. It was an easy book to read despite the heavy topics. You can’t help but root for Meredith who is absolutely lovable. I enjoyed the supporting characters, dual timeline, and watching Meredith go through her journey. This is such an important story on trauma and the effects it has on our lives. I recommend.

What an emotional read for me. Some of the content is hard to hear but so raw and real. I was so invested in Meredith and finding out what and why she felt the need to seclude herself in her home. How she managed to stay locked up and still live. I was so excited for her in the end when she finally broke through the darkness and found the light that allowed her to “live” again.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Highly recommend reading it.

I was really looking forward to reading this, but something was just falling flat to me and i can't put my finger on it. I felt like it was more story driven than accurate to people who actually struggle with this problem.

Sad, lovely, and ultimately hopeful, this story of a woman who hasn't left her home in over three years explores family trauma, friendship, and resilience. It's a slow build, but ultimately, I was very caught up in Meredith's story. A very touching read.

Oh, this book. It will tug (or maybe something more dramatic — jerk?) your heartstrings. Meredith is a dear, dear character and narrator. You will love her to pieces before the book is done. Her story is not remarkable, except that it is. It is every story of trauma and anxiety, except that it is hers. The author does an excellent job of describing what trauma and anxiety do to a person, yet this story is Meredith’s alone. You may cry, and you will definitely cheer her on in her journey