Welcome to the Redgum River Retreat, where harmony is found when hope is lost.
HOPE:
Single mother Sarah is guilt-ridden when an accident leaves her young daughter Melody seriously injured and their once music-filled lives silent. When she discovers her grandmother Rosalie’s war correspondence, she thinks she might have found a way to save her family, but it will require a leap of faith…
HEARTACHE:
In 1945 Rosalie is desperate to forge a career as a journalist, and taking photos for soldiers serving in the war might just lead to the job of her dreams. But when two brothers she’s been corresponding with come home to Redgum River, her life is turned upside down, and she flees, vowing to never return.
HEALING:
Decades on, the hope that a music retreat can help Melody lures the three generations of women to Redgum River, where Sarah draws together the threads of Rosalie’s past. A heartbreaking family mystery comes to light, and they discover that the ghosts of the past can lead them to their future, and they might all be more in tune than they first thought.
We’re huge Sandie Docker fans here at Better Reading, and we know our readers are too, with her novels The Banksia Bay Beach Shack, The Cottage at Rosella Cove and The Wattle Island Book Club all having made our Top 100 lists. Her latest novel, The Redgum River Retreat, is a heartwarming, moving and poignant read that’s sure to captivate fans and new readers alike.
Docker seamlessly weaves together the lives of three generations of women: grandmother Rosalie, single mother Sarah, and her daughter Melody, who has selective mutism after an awful accident. Sharply executed, this dual-timeline novel will hold your hand in the present and guide you through the past. You’ll become invested in each of these three women’s stories as they uncover their traumas and learn to heal through music. There are also a host of loveable secondary characters that will leave a vital impression.
From trauma, loss and guilt to hope, love and revelations, there are so many interesting layers in this novel. But I was most drawn to Docker’s portrayal of silence: literal silence, but also the moments we choose not to speak about, and the power of speaking up. The integration of music and the retreat’s essentiality in shaping these women’s lives is hopeful and emotionally impactful.
Alongside the dual timeline, there are multiple POVs, and Docker fantastically portrays them all, each on different timelines and at various ages – you’ll find yourself relating to and growing to love every character. Despite being in my late 20s and living in the 21st century, I felt a strong connection to and investment in Rosalie’s story in the mid-1940s. Docker has clearly done her research and excels at integrating Australian wartime history into this contemporary novel.
Uplifting, hopeful and heart-wrenching, Docker adds another stellar novel to her repertoire with The Redgum River Retreat. Perfect for a weekend read, this story will have you crying, smiling and ultimately feeling optimistic.
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