Life can change in a heartbeat…

When struggling actress Heidi has a life-changing accident aged 32, her world falls apart. Stuck in hospital and unable to walk, her only companion is Maud, the elderly lady in the bed next to hers. Heidi misses her flatmate, her life, her freedom – surely 32 is too young to be an amputee?

But when Maud’s aloof but attractive grandson Jack pays a visit to the ward, Heidi realises that her life isn’t over just because it’s different. It might not look like the life she dreamed of, but it’s the one she’s got – and there’s a lot she still wants to tick off her bucket list. With Jack at her side, will Heidi take the first step back to happiness? Or is there one more surprise still in store…?

A feel-good read based on the inspiring true story of journalist Ella Dove. Sometimes all it takes is one small step… 

Published July 2019 by Trapeze (UK) 

~ Review ~  

Firstly, I have to apologise. I’m a couple of days late with my stop on the blog tour for this book due to a technical hitch. The book was worth the trouble though, as it’s a truly inspiring and heartwarming story which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Heidi is out jogging, when she trips and falls. Hours later she wakes in hospital to find she has had a leg amputated due to the severity of her injury. An out going and active woman, Heidi must relearn how to walk and build her confidence ready to face the real world again. But she is haunted by the man who saw her fall that day and didn’t stay to help her. If he had, could Heidi have avoided the situation she now finds herself in?

The most touching thing about this book is that it is based on the authors real life experiences. Who would ever have thought a fall while out jogging could have such life changing consequences? Five Steps to Happy explores the emotions and feelings experienced first hand by the author, making it extremely honest and raw at times. Heidi’s feelings of resentment  towards other patients in the rehab center who were there through lifestyle choices, her guilt at the pressure and effect on her family and friends and her anger towards the man who left her come straight from the heart and voice of experience.

Yet despite the awfulness of Heidi’s situation, this is an incredibly positive and uplifting book. Yes Heidi experiences grief at the loss of the person and future she expects, but she faces the path she now finds herself on with determination and strength. Life not be as she thought it was, but she is going to enjoy it with goals, achievements and challenges tackled head on.

Ella Dove writes with warmth and humour as well as honesty, and I’m really glad I got to read this book. Five Steps To Happy really is an inspiring book, and just shows that we should never take anything for granted because in an just an instant everything can change.  This is definitely a book I’d recommend and I guarantee you too will fall in love with Heidi.

(I read a finished copy which I bought after some technical hitches with my free netgally copy)