Thanks to Kaye Wilkinson Barley for introducing me to Beth Moran’s Just the Way You Are. This novel was just right, a positive, uplifting story of a young woman learning to love herself. And, along the way, she discovered she loved herself the most when she was helping others improve their own self-image.

Olivia Tennyson (Ollie) is a twenty-nine-year-old woman, single, living with her mother, a controlling, manipulating hypochondriac with massive abandonment issues. And, she might have stayed there forever, if two things hadn’t happened. Her best friend, Stephanie, reminded Ollie that years before she had written a Dream List of what she wanted in her life. Ollie hadn’t yet taken action on any of those items. Then Ollie is pushed to take action when she discovers her mother snooped and read that Dream List, and wanted to do items on the list for Ollie’s thirtieth birthday.

With help from several people, her aunt, and a client, Ollie takes the first steps. She buys a little house in Bigley Bottom, a half hour drive from her mother. She finds a tenant for her mother, and despite her mother’s claim of pain, she moves out, and blocks her mother’s phone calls. And, she settles in to her new job as area manager for a branch of ReadUp, an adult literacy program. It meets at the local library, but Ollie has to deal with Irene, the librarian who fights change of any kind, including the people who meet with Ollie.

Without her mother stepping in at every moment, Ollie is able to meet her neighbors. They unwittingly help Ollie with the ten items on her Dream List. In turn, Ollie changes the lives of so many people. Without spoiling the story of their interactions, meet Joan, an eleven-year-old who changed her name, and loves to read books such as The Hobbit, and Joan’s mother who works long hours. Joan calls the mysterious elderly man in the middle cottage, Ebenezer. Ollie is always making a fool of herself in front of Sam, a forest ranger. Ollie’s clients at ReadUp are delightful. And, even Irene grows on her. Then, there’s Nesbit, the cocker spaniel that Joan finds.

But, it’s Ollie herself who takes the steps to change her life, and, in doing so, she adds magic to other lives. Just the Way You Are brought tears, but I laughed out loud as well. The people in this book have so much courage. They move on, just by putting one foot in front of another. And, even Ollie has to learn to accept help, not just give it.

There’s a moment in the book (not a spoiler) when Ollie sees a deer. She realizes, “I’d experienced a moment of magic, and that was something to treasure.” Just the Way You Are offers a moment of magic.

Beth Moran’s website is https://bethmoranauthor.com/

Just the Way You Are by Beth Moran. Boldwood Books, 2022. ISBN 9781802806335 (paperback), 358p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I downloaded a free copy to Kindle.