The Kindness Club on Mapleberry Lane

by Helen Rolfe

Image courtesy of Action for Happiness who produce a monthly calendar with suggestions on how to make our communities a happier, kinder place to be.    www.actionforhappiness.org

There are times when you just want to read something gentle and heart-warming – a book where you don’t have to focus too much on the details or who said what ,when and what its relevance was! Sometimes, you just want to curl up in a cosy corner, hot drink in hand, chocolates by the side and preferably a cat on your knee (that’s my perfect reading session anyway), reading a story with no violence, swearing, death or destruction and if that is the case, this book just might be the one for you.

Described as uplifting and feel good fiction, this book is warm and compassionate, with a lovely satisfying happy ending.  Described by one reviewer as ‘a hug in a book,’ this is a story that will not annoy or anger you, but give you an opportunity to escape from the realities of everyday life.

Veronica Beecham lives in a beautiful and tidy cottage in Mapleberry Lane. She lives alone but seems happy and contented with her day to day life – keeping things tidy and organised. She enjoys baking, crafts and helping to look after her young neighbour, Layla whilst supporting Layla’s father who is a single Dad working as a paramedic. On the outside everything looks perfect but, Veronica is hiding a secret, something she doesn’t admit to other people. She has not left her home in years and is lonely, feeling isolated from her community and grateful that she can be of use to Charlie and Layla to give her life a purpose.

Sam is her daughter but there has been an estrangement and Sam resents her mother and her obsessive tidiness. But Sam is struggling too. Things have been tough since her husband decided to move to New Zealand with his new girlfriend. Sam has to make some big and difficult decisions including selling the family home and finding a new, smaller more affordable one for her, and her daughter Audrey.

Audrey is also finding life tough. She is struggling to find her place in the world and she too is lonely with only one real friend who her Mum is trying to stop her seeing. Audrey resents her mother and believes she is the one that caused the marriage breakup. She wants to live with her father in New Zealand and online promises have been made by him but are frustratingly being constantly delayed. Relations between Sam and Audrey are breaking down rapidly, so as a last resort and to give her time to sort the house move, Audrey is despatched to her Grandmother’s house, someone she has barely seen in her childhood, in a tiny village and away from her friend. She is not happy! Veronica has lots of rules such as not eating anywhere but the kitchen, tidying up and making sure everything is in its rightful place and Audrey rebels at first. She turns Veronica’s perfectly ordered life completely upside down.

But in time, their relationship changes as Audrey begins to realise why her grandmother is how she is. She recognises her loneliness and her desire to re-join the community she lives within and with the help of little Layla and her Kindness Calendar from school, a plan begins to emerge. Audrey starts secretly adding things to the calendar, other small acts to get her Grandmother involved, with Layla acting as an enthusiastic accomplice. The three of them form The Kindness Club and when Sam also moves in for a while, she too becomes a member, completing small acts of kindness which ripple through the village, helping others and at the same time helping themselves.

But there is one task at the end of the year that would make Veronica’s own secret wish come true .. can it happen?

There are various bumps in their relationships, a little romance, a frightening escapade in the woods and several other happenings that I won’t reveal, enough to keep the reader interested. I found all the characters relatable and likeable and ultimately, I wanted them to rebuild their fractured relationships and form a strong family unit. It is a warm and compassionate read that talks about families, forgiveness and the importance of kindness to each other and to those around us – making it clear that one small action can lead on to much bigger things.

I seem to have become very interested in stories of small communities working together to make things a better place – a by product of the pandemic and lockdown, I think. Kindness costs nothing and can make a huge difference as this book demonstrates.

A lovely light read and a new author for me to discover. I hope you enjoy it too.