Engaging and moving look at life

Whilst mourning the recent loss of her mother, Kerry is looking forward to moving into the, now empty, family house. Beth, Kerry’s younger sister, has different ideas however. Whilst trying to negotiate this problem, Kerry’s life begins to fall apart in other ways – luckily for Kerry there is always another glass of wine to help things along.

Alongside this Kerry is fighting to forget traumatic memories of the past, whilst hoping for a turnaround in her fortunes.

This is an engaging novel about Kerry, a postwoman in her early 40s, who thinks she has the ideal life, but who her sister feels is missing out. There are wonderful moments, dark moments, plus insights into the life of a village postwoman. Kerry spends her days supporting so many in the community, will they be there for her if she needs them?

I found myself drawn to Kerry, at times shocked, but always involved. This contemporary fiction, told from the point of view of Kerry, delves into everyday human life, its emotions and how imagination and memories can be damaging as well as a force for positive good.

A moving look into the life of Kerry, who could so easily be someone living near to us.

Kerry Tucker is in her 40's and leads a sheltered life. Home is an annex to her childhood home and her job is delivering post to the nearby villages. Her solitary existence suits her fine until her mother passes away and life begins to spiral out of control.

Kerry is a very quiet, unassuming character who doesn't ask for much from life. She's happy living in the converted garage of her family home and enjoys the solitude offered by her job, taking pleasure in the views as she drives from village to village and the interactions with the people on her round. The death of her mother is the catalyst that causes Kerry's life to start spinning out of control.

Family dynamics are a major thread, Even though Kerry is older by two years it's her sister Beth who seems to make all the decisions, bossing Kerry around. For the sake of a quiet life Kerry accepts this. Kerry is protective of her sister and has kept a secret about their father for fifteen years as she didn't want to upset anyone. Following the death of their mother the division of her estate begins to cause friction between the sisters. My heart was in my mouth as the problems with the will were discussed, this is just the type of thing that drives a wedge between families in real life.

Kerry's behaviour is self-destructive and because of this behaviour I found it difficult to sympathise. As we find out more about Kerry's life and her background we discover that her solitary life-style is an attempt to hide from an event that happened as a teenager, an event that was fueled by alcohol. Unfortunately she is now resorting to alcohol as an emotional crutch after her mothers death. Resorting to alcohol begins to cause complications in her life.

As the story develops we begin to realise that Kerry is incredibly lonely, suffering trauma and depressed. Instead of trying to confront things or seek help she hides away, however this simply adds to the spiral of depression.

A chance connection with someone from her past allows Kerry to learn the truth and begin to put things in perspective. A series of disasters makes Kerry confront her reality and take positive steps towards getting her life back on track, she also learns that she has friends, people who genuinely have her best interests at heart.

“Kerry Tucker Learns to Live” is by Louise Voss. Must admit - the cover sucked me in. However, don’t always judge a great looking book by said cover. I’m not sure how I feel about this book. Reading about all the mental things piled upon Kerry (death of her mother, excessive drinking, depression, danger of losing her employment, plus a traumatic event in her past) it seemed like she really needed a good therapist to talk to … though she was okay with her routine and quiet life (introverted?). So, I’m a bit confused and wondering if the trauma was the main thing “needing fixing” or if Kerry needed to be a bit more outgoing (meaning that being an introvert needed fixing). I don’t know - thus the confusion on my end. On the plus side, this book kept me engaged and it was pretty easy to keep past Kerry separate from present Kerry in the flashback scenes. This book delved into Kerry’s character very well (it’s a character driven book) but the other characters weren’t as fleshed out - and I really would’ve liked to read more about Kerry’s road to recovery or picking herself up opposed to just the past trauma and concerns. A 3.5 star book, rounded up to 4.

Forty-three year old Kerry is a postwoman in the village she grew up in, a job she's done for twenty-five years. She's grieving the recent loss of her mother, but even apart from that life isn't going so well.

She likes her job but her boss is a bully, her sister looks down on her, she's never had a relationship or left home, and she's basically an alcoholic. Things can't get much worse for Kerry. Oh wait, they can.

I enjoyed this book, though I did feel I'd read the basic story - summarised by the title - several times before: lonely woman with very limited horizons, probably with a past trauma, goes through some experiences and ends up changing her life for the better.

I liked Kerry, but she really didn't help herself at times. And I couldn't believe how much she drank! If I drank as much even once as she seemed to do on a daily basis, I'd end up in hospital having my stomach pumped.

I did like how Covid lockdowns, mask-wearing etc were integrated into the plot as part of the overall backdrop - it's been part of the landscape for 2.5 years now and should be acknowledged in contemporary-set novels.

Not earth shattering but a good read.

Different to what I expected. Dark and emotional novel about moving on and learning to live that will make you laugh out loud but also shed a tear.

I really enjoyed reading Kerry Tucker Learns to Live by Louise Voss. It’s refreshing to read about a narrator that’s not in the best place. It almost reminded me a little of Louisa from Me Before You. I loved the sisterly relationship between Beth and Kerry. Also how Kerry is determined to literally get her a life. I also loved the mystery aspect as well about a secret her father kept. I thought that made the novel stand out . I enjoyed Elinor Oliphont which made me want to check out this book as well since it was in a similar theme. I found it very heartfelt and fulfilling. This wa# my first book by this author, but ai look forward to reading more from her in the future, cover was beautiful and eye catching as well.

I wanted to read this book because I thought it was going to be an uplifting story about overcoming your demons to live your best possible life. I am disappointed because I didn't feel the main character learned to live. The story was much darker than I was expecting and it didn't answer the question as to why Kerry Tucker lived such a basic life. She experienced something horrible as a teenager, but it didn't feel as though she was truly suffering from that event. So what if she lives with her parents, is a 43 year old virgin, and works as a mail carrier? What do they have to do with trauma? Why is it made to seem like she is not truly living just because she doesn't live like everyone else? How exactly does Kerry Tucker learn to live? By having a boyfriend? Through accepting the past? This was not clear.

The story was slow paced and a little boring. I also think the cover art does not reflect the story.

Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea.

Be in a good place when you read this. Kerry goes through a LOT and it sometimes is very hard to read without wanting to pick her up and help out in some fashion. The story captured the realities of overcoming difficulties and was realistic in the manner and pace at which it can happen.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Kerry is pathetic! Who at 43, has no friends, excited to live in the big house, and defines herself only by her job? It is so hard to identify with hee as she certainly was not living. Do not waste your time reading this book. I had hoped it got better and I certainly understand what she went through in the pond but this is just sad.

This book follows the failings and redemption of Kerry Tucker.

Although I sympathised a lot with Kerry, I didn’t feel a massive connection to her as the main character. It was a good book with an easy writing style.

Kerry really gets out through the wringer in this book! As she is in the midst of grieving the death of her mother, her world continues to fall apart. Kerry made plenty of mistakes, along with horrible things happening to her - I think this made her much more dimensional and realistic as a character. Everything ultimately gets worked out in the end, but I wish we could have seen a glimpse more of Kerry picking herself up, versus what felt like a very long tumble beforehand. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A thoughtful read about starting over.
Goodness me poor Kerry goes through the motions, and I was turning the chapters I kept thinking, please do not let anymore happen to this woman!
Some very sensitive and topical subject matters dealt with delicately and in an unusual way which added to the depths of the characters.

This was a wonderful character read about the eponymous Kerry Tucker who has lived in something of a bubble for many years living in an annex next to her mum, working in the same job which she loves and barely having a life beyond this. The death of her mum sets Kerry off on a downward spiral which is exasperated by the difficult relationship with her sister. The book does a great job of showing how events in Kerry’s past lead her to where she is now and how hitting rock bottom can actually be the start of learning to live again. 7/10

Louise Voss has explored several genres in her novels and one of my favourites is her debut To Be Someone, which I absolutely loved. I'm thrilled that Voss has moved away from the psychological genre with Kerry Tucker Learns to Live - I adored it. Kerry is in her 40s and grieving the loss of her mother. She lives alone in the village where she grew up, loves her job and has a challenging relationship with her younger sister Beth. The novel is set in a village near Salisbury, a city I grew up in and love so I was immediately drawn to this. Voss portrays Kerry with so much empathy that even though she frustrated me at times I was really rooting for her throughout. It's a novel that really draws you in to Kerry's story and Voss explores Kerry's grief , her anger, addiction, past trauma and relationships with real sensitivity. Ultimately it's a novel about hope and I feel bereft now I've finished it. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.