What an absolutely delightful read!

Bernice Runs Away is a fun, witty, coming of age (though the age is in the 80s) novel. It has wonderful characters, especially Bernice. She is quite a character that examines many aspects of her life, such as her dreams, future plans, relationships, and religion. She makes steps towards which she believes she wants and discovers many aspects about herself. I absolutely loved this book. Anyone who enjoys humor, reading about life’s lessons and life’s desires. Caution: The reader may likely find they are delving deeper within themselves as they make discoveries right along with Bernice. I did.


I received an ARC from One Mississippi Press, LLC through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

This was a quick, light read - predictable but also quite delightful.

When Bernice's daughter and son-in-law want her to leave the home she has loved and move states to live in a home they are having built in their backyard, Bernice, 81, is hugely reluctant to surrender to it, so she runs away, and heads to the lake that the family used to visit every summer. Bernice wants to gain some control back, and make her own decisions in life - and wants to prove she doesn't need to be dependent on everyone else (yet). She also has questions she wants answered from her past, and this is the perfect opportunity to reflect and possibly see what she can find out.

The plotline is everything you would expect from a book of this trope, and its pretty 'fluffy' but it was an easy and enjoyable read.

Catchy title sucked me it but it wasn’t enough to keep my interest. Upset by a daughter haranguing her to leave her home and movie in, realizing that she is often forgetful and sometimes confused, Bernice thinks running away to a long ago favorite spot seems like that logical thing to do. But it takes her forever to move from point A to B to C and I just lost interest.

Thank you NetGalley and One Mississippi Press LLC for a copy.

You will meet a very smart lady in Bernice Runs Away by Talya Tate Boerner. Her experiences and discoveries are valuable.

I picked this book on a whim and while I enjoyed it, I LOVED it even more!

Who doesn’t love a road trip!

Some of the choices she made, Has me downright nervous, I feared people would take advantage of her but this is book about people uplifting and inspiring, so no need to panic!!!

ALL ages should find the story to be both delightful and charming! With some of the experience some may find it hard to relate but if you’re in a younger age group you’ll definitely see parts of yourself in this book.

Thank you for gifting this!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a lot more depth to it than I was expecting.

Bernice lives in the house she raised her children in and buried both her husband and son in. It holds many memories and she has a life there. But, as she is approaching her mid-80's, her daughter is convinced she would be better off living with her in a backyard carriage house. Sarah even goes so far as to have construction done and arrange for Bernice to have an estate sale. Not knowing what else to do, Berinice packs up her car, withdraws her savings, and heads to a cottage on a lake they used to vacation at years ago. While there, Berice has time to reflect on life, meet some new people, and contact her "first love" from 50 years ago.
Great story about what is important in life and mending relationships.

What a delightful book! I LOVED it! Like others have said I didn't want it to end. I love seeing so many different protagonists popping up in books in the past couple of years. I already bought a copy for my personal collection. Thanks so much for a chance to read this early copy!

This is a lovely book. Eighty-two year old Bernice feels her independence being taken away from her. So she runs away to a place of happier times. There she reinvents herself and makes peace with her past.

I downloaded this title expecting a bit of a madcap road trip with adventure and humor. What I got was actually better. Although Bernice is just a year older than my mother, I found that there were so many ways I connected with Bernice: 1) She is a former librarian. 2) She's downsizing. 3) She loves her cat (hers is named Dolly Parton -- extra points for that) 4) She has a rural, small-town backstory 5) Her church friends 6) Her family focus 7) She enjoys yummy treats like Possum Pie 8) She is willing to jump through hoops to get a library card.

While I read this I was also away from home -- very far away. My husband and I were visiting our missionary son and family in Latvia. We had some travel issues getting there, but it was worth the struggle to be with them. Like Bernice, I brought books with me (but not our cat). One book Marie mentions often is Marie Kondo's. Although I have not read it personally, I learned some helpful things just by reading Bernice's story. It was a genuine delight to spend time with Bernice and watch her rediscover the things that were precious to her heart.

A big thank you to One Mississippi Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: Just before sunrise on a Friday like any other, Bernice Hart decided to run away from home. She’d started mulling over the notion shortly after the occasion of her eighty-first birthday. Now, as she opened her eyes to another day, Bernice discovered the idea had fully taken root in her mind. She would slip away undetected, not in search of one last great adventure, nor as an attention-seeking antic sure to upset her family. Bernice had only one goal: she wanted to live out the remainder of her life on her own terms.

ABOUT 'BERNICE RUNS AWAY': Life hasn’t always been easy for Bernice, but she is reasonably content at the ripe age of eighty-one. She has raised two children, buried both her husband and son, and is doing okay despite a few minor health issues. When Bernice’s daughter, Sarah, insists the time has come for Bernice to forfeit her independence and move into her backyard carriage house, Bernice refuses.

“I have a perfectly good house in Arkansas. Why on earth would I move to Atlanta?”

Despite Bernice’s protestations, Sarah moves forward with death cleaning and estate sale planning as though Bernice has no say in the matter.

Bernice has plenty to say about a variety of things.

With Miss Fiona packed stem to stern with only those things that spark joy (thank you, Marie Kondo) and inspired by an old black-and-white photograph of her first true love, Bernice leaves her cozy home in Savage Crossing without a glance in the rearview mirror. And without a word to her family.

Once Bernice decides to run away, there is no telling what might happen next.

MY THOUGHTS: This sounds like a hilarious jaunt. It's not. It's a quiet exploration of an elderly woman 'finding herself'; discovering what is important to her. There are some humorous moments along the way, but that's not what the book is about.

At the outset, Bernice seems like a pretty dull character. She has fallen into a rut and thinks she is perfectly happy there. But, determined not to be railroaded by her daughter into moving to Atlanta to live with her, she decides to run away - from everyone and everything.

At times I was worried about Bernice, particularly when she loses her cat, Dolly Parton, at a roadside stop. She doesn't exactly have a lot of life skills and undergoes a steep learning curve.

I really liked Jason's character. He owns the lakeside cabins where Bernice stays. He's reeling from a broken engagement - the woman even took his dog when she left! He's kind and thoughtful and keeps a close eye on Bernice, and helps her in her search for her first love, who had unceremoniously dumped her with no explanation!

I found it easy to empathise with Bernice in many situations. When she needs it, she has spunk and determination.

If you want a story with lots of action and romance, Bernice Runs Away isn't for you. If you want a delightfully quiet read about an elderly woman looking for a second chance at life - you've found it.

⭐⭐⭐.6

#BerniceRunsAway #NetGalley

I: @gracegrits @onemisspress

T: @GraceGrits @OneMissPress

THE AUTHOR: Talya Tate Boerner is a delta girl who grew up making mudpies on her family’s cotton farm in Northeast Arkansas. After thirty years as a commercial banker in Dallas, she returned to the state she loves and now lives in Fayetteville with her husband, John, and two miniature schnauzers, Gracie and Annabelle. She loves to cook and believes most any dish can be improved with a side of collard greens.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to One Mississippi Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Bernice Runs Away by Talya Tate Boerner for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

A charming, joyful and surprising story about love, friendship and learning to be true to yourself. It’s an emotional rollercoaster!
Read it! You won't be disappointed.

This was a cute (but sometimes sad) look at strained family ties and the loss of personal independence. I liked Bernice's feistiness and headstrong attitude.

My Grandma's name is Berniece so reading this story had me thinking about her as I turned every page. This is definitely an enjoyable story. Very suitable for a rainy day to bring some brightness to a dreary day. I enjoyed Berniece and was excited to see such a fun and heartwarming story focused on an elderly lady - especially as I get closer to that age! Lots of life lesson reflections for the reader. LOVED THIS BOOK!!

Sweet book that ran a bit slow for me. This story covers a lot of ground and so many difficult topics. I thought it was ok.

I will be amazed if this isn't made into a film.

Themes of grief, loneliness, ageing and agency made Bernice Runs Away a bittersweet story.

Bernice is an 81 year old widow who has finally decided to live life on her own terms. While “death cleaning” her home at the request of her daughter, she comes across some old photos and decides to run away to a lake where she spent most summers growing up and fell in love for the first time.

This was a cute story, but the pacing is really slow and I found some parts a bit repetitive. The story wasn’t funny or sad and there wasn’t any drama, it was just ok.

"Bernice Runs Away" by Talya Tate Boerner is Women's Fiction story with a spunky main character!

Eighty-one-year-old widow, Bernice Hart, is planning to run away!

She's going through the motions of "death cleaning" her home to placate her daughter, Sarah, and son-in-law, Stewart, who want Bernice to move from her home in Savage Crossing, Arkansas to Atlanta, Georgia, where they're building a small home for her on their property.

While going through old photos, Bernice finds one of her first love, John Marvel, taken during a summer spent at Lake Norfolk when she was seventeen years old. She wonders why John broke her heart by never answering her letters sent all those years ago.

Bernice is determined not to go to Atlanta and without telling anyone but her closest friend, Marlene, she packs her car to the brim with her most cherished items, all her cash, her cat, Dolly Parton, and drives to a small resort cabin at Lake Norfolk.

Bernice wonders if John Marvel is still there...

I love Bernice and her little octogenarian self. She has such determination and dedication to her "runaway" project. It feels a bit wobbly, though, during her car ride with Dolly to Lake Norfolk, but mostly she's a pretty sharp cookie with incredible spunk!

While I did enjoy Bernice's story, the author takes a heck of a long time getting her to Lake Norfolk and allocates too many words for what's in her head. Her thoughts wander to superfluous verbiage that could easily be edited down to focus on the heart of the story.

Be warned, the pace is slow, most chapters are long, there's repetition about Bernice's past and present life, which adds up to a story I struggled to remain focused on each time I picked it up.

This story has great bones and I get a strong sense of the author's love for this character. I do recommend this charming book to readers who love Women's Fiction, with an interesting, mature main character and a story with a much slower pace.

3.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, One Mississippi Press LLC, and Talya Tate Boerner for an ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Bernice Runs Away by Talya Tate Boerner

Eighty-one year old Bernice is being pressured by her daughter and son-in-law to throw her things away and move into a their backyard carriage house they are building for her. If she's going to have to ditch everything that is dear to her, why not do it her own way? Bernice runs away, taking her car, Fiona, and her cat, Dolly Parton. The past has been on her mind and in her dreams constantly and she's going to run towards the past.

So off Bernice and Dolly Parton go to the location of her long ago first love and to the location of her greatest loss. The first part of the book had me feeling so anxious, both because Bernice seems to have memory and disorientation problems and because I worried that Bernice was in over her head by taking off in such a hurried manner. But once Bernice gets to her chosen destination, I was able to settle in with her and the lovely people who become part of this new life. Plus, the past meets the present and that is handled in a very satisfying way. This is a lovely story and I liked that even the pushy daughter is written in such a way that I felt for her from the very beginning. She truly loves her mother and but is in over her head in her own life.

Thank you to One Mississippi Press LLC and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a lovely, enjoyable and entertaining surprise. A well plotted and lovely book that made me smile and root for Berenice.
Excellent storytelling and character development, a well plotted story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine