Preloved: A sparklingly witty and relatable debut novel

Product Information

Dazzlingly witty, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss and being true to yourself no matter the expectations. Lovingly celebrating the enduring power and joy of charity shops.

laurenbravo • Instagram photos and videos laurenbravo • Instagram photos and videos

Brimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring power and joy of charity shops. I feel like last year I read a fair few books about chaotic 20-somethings who don’t know what to do with their lives (sweet summer children) – so imagine my delight to read a novel about a middle-aged woman who doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life! Is 38 middle-aged? I’m turning 42 in a couple weeks and I deffo feel middle-aged, and also sort of have no idea what I’m doing… As well as the stomach-churning and eye-opening, charity shops offer everyone hope. Lauren has found some gems in her time volunteering.

Table of Contents

Gwen is floundering. She is let go from her job and had recently broken things off with her fiancé. Her relationship with her parents is somewhat estranged, and her close friends are all paired off. She decides to clean out her apartment and takes her unwanted items to a second hand store, and while there she decides to volunteer at the store while she lives off of her severance and contemplates what to do as a next step.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads

When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s time to make a change. Over what might be the best – and most solitary – meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen vows to find something meaningful to do with her life, reconnect with her family and friends – and finally book herself a dentist appointment. I’m an author and award-winning journalist, writing about fashion, food, pop culture, travel, feminism and life,for people like Sunday Times Style, Grazia, Refinery29 UK, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, easyJet Traveller, Foodism, Delicious, The Telegraph and The Guardian. Overall, Preloved is a heartwarming and humorous novel with great characters that I would recommend to anyone. I eagerly await Lauren Bravo's future releases. As she is sitting in a restaurant eating a solo dinner to celebrate her birthday (thus showing us, the readers, the isolated life she has made for herself), she starts to put together a to-do list of all the tasks she has been avoiding for far too long. One of these chores is to dispose of the engagement ring that she has been holding on to since the abrupt ending of the relationship. She takes this, and other items she has been keeping, to a local charity shop and so starts the journey to her new life. The writing style is clever, observant and witty. I’m sure Lauren Bravo knows my mother, because she’s uncannily similar to Gwen’s mum Marjorie! Her character descriptions are astute and sensitive and each one comes to life from her words.I can see myself recommending this book to my fellow charity shop co-workers, and recommending it to people in general!