Missing Words by Loree Westron (Fairlight Books)

The novella is set in 1980s. Politics of Margaret Thatcher opposites unions and increases the unemployment.  The protagonist Jenny, the only female at the postal depot everyday confronts sexism, questions about her job competence and threats of imminent job loss. 

Life at home is also a struggle for 40-years old Jenny, family lives in a deep grief, her marriage is on a verge of an existence, and her daughter is almost an adult and wants to live a life of her own.

One day Jenny finds a postcard, the name of the town and the postcode are missing. Its only destination now is the Dead Letter Office at the far end of the sorting-room floor. She scans the message quickly - Life is nothing without you in it.

Jenny decides to keep the postcard and trace the recipient herself. The novella follow’s the protagonist’s cycling trips to the island in her quest to reunite the lovers. This turns into the Jenny’s own journey to find herself. She can try, and keep on trying, to go forward, and to do things better in the future.

Well written, relatable and touching read.

4/5