Leena Cotton is a problem solver. As a business consultant, she is at the top of her game. Until she has a major meltdown in a client presentation. Her boss looks at her record and sees that she hasn’t taken much personal time, and she orders her to take a 2-month sabbatical to get her head in a better place.
Eileen Cotton, Leena’s grandmother, is a 79-year-old, suddenly single woman. After her husband of decades ran off with a dancing teacher, Eileen finds herself alone again and ready for a new adventure.
When Leena goes to visit her grandmother to get sympathy for what happened at work, she finds her grandmother making a list of the all the single, age-appropriate men in her small village. Leena takes a look at the slim pickings there and sets her grandmother up for online dating. When the options nearby are still pretty thin, Leena has an idea—for the next two months, her grandmother can take her place in London and date men there, and Leena can stay in her grandmother’s cottage in Leeds and take over all her responsibilities.
Leena knows she can handle whatever her grandmother usually does, except maybe for one thing. Taking care of Leena’s mother. Leena has barely spoken to her since her sister died of cancer the year before. It had been a really difficult time for them both, and the very different ways they’ve dealt with their grief has isolated them further. But now, Leena has promised her grandmother she would check in on her mother, so she adds that to her list of things to do, along with the neighborhood watch and helping put on the village festival.
Meanwhile in London, Eileen struggles to overcome her fear of the big city and fights her loneliness to figure out what she needs to spice up her life. As she gets to know Leena’s roommates and best friend, and as her online dating profile starts to get some interest, Eileen remembers herself as a young woman, wanting to come to London and change the world.
As both women become acclimated to their new homes, they are forced to face their fears and feelings and everything that has been holding them back from tier true selves. But the weeks they spend in a new place brings them both back to their truest selves and help them finds new ways to serve their friends and neighbors.
The Switch is a charming novel about the things we lose along the way in life and how a journey to find ourselves can bring huge rewards and unexpected surprises. Beth O’Leary’s sophomore novel is a warm and wonderful celebration of life and all its small miracles.
I listened to the audio book of The Switch, which is narrated by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones as the voices of Eileen and Leena. The book goes back and forth between the two characters, and the narrators bring both stories to life with personality and charisma. Having two narrators makes it easy to fix yourself in the story of each character. When you hear Eileen, you know you’re back in London, and when you hear Leena’s voice, you find yourself back in Yorkshire. It’s a lovely way to experience this story, and I highly recommend it!
I really loved The Switch. I was so impressed with these women and how hard they work to better their lives as well as the lives of those around them. Watching them both find their centers again and reach out to those hurting around them was enchanting and inspiring, and I loved every word of this fun, soulful story.
A copy of the audiobook for The Switch was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.
