A Hundred Pieces Of Me By Lucy Dillon

[amazon_link id=”1444727079″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’A Hundred Pieces Of Me’ is the latest book by Lucy Dillon.

Gina Bellamy is starting over, her health problems of the last few years, are behind her and her cheating husband is out of the picture. She decides to simplify her life, as she down sizes from her perfect ‘grand’ home to a much smaller flat. Sifting through her possessions she must decide what things she should keep and what to throw away – letters from the only man she’s ever loved, a keepsake of the father she never knew and a beautiful vase that catches the light, even on the dullest of grey days. Gina makes a resolution ; to keep 100 objects that really mean something – the rest must go. In making the cull, Gina is forced to come to terms with her past and learn to embrace a future on shaky foundations, and whatever it might bring.

I found ‘A Hundred Pieces Of Me’ to be quite an interesting and intriguing story. I discovered it was quite an relatable story as I realised that I had more in common with Gina, than being a dog lover and that I too am feeling the pressure of not being where I am expected to be at a certain point in life.

The story is seen through the perspective of Gina, a newly single and recently in remission from breast cancer woman who decides after moving into her new house, to sort through her clutter and keep only the 100 things that she truly needs. Through a journey down memory lane of old gifts and mementos, we join Gina as she reminisces on the life that she regrets and the changes she wish she had to courage to make.

Gina is a beautiful and creative character who sees potential in everything around her and we see how she has developed through the series of flashbacks as she sorts through her belongings and she has gotten to where she is in life. A gentle character that has become somewhat complacent in life, it seems that separating from Stuart was the best thing that could have happened to her, as it has given her a new lease of life and a chance to finally move on. Living alone, she begins to enjoy the company of herself until Buzz, a timid and uncared Greyhound comes into her life. Unused to dogs and not prepared for her new houseguest, Gina and Buzz embark on a truly remarkable relationship as they find a solace and companionship with each other. The longer Buzz stays in Gina’s life, the more the two of them begin to trust each other and the scenes of this realisation between Buzz and Gina are particularly tender, as a dog lover I found myself regularly welling up at Lucy’s beautiful descriptions of Buzz and how he began to find confidence in himself and became happy in his new home.

Gina struggles to maintain a happy relationship with her mother Janet, as Gina seems to play mother role more than Janet, protecting her from the truth of her illness and fears of life. Having lost two husbands in her life, Janet seems almost resentful of Gina’s divorce and instead of having concern for her daughter, she thinks more of her having grandchildren. I found Janet to be quite a selfish character, particularly when she wouldn’t tell Gina about her father no matter how much Gina persisted and remained in a bubble ignoring the reality of life about her.

A beautify written and compelling story, ‘A Hundred Pieces Of Me’ is a story that I fell in love with. I found it to aspirational and has given me the motivation to declutter my own life! A gentle and poignant story as we joined one woman’s journey of self discovery and acceptance, with the aid of wonderful friends, a sweetheart of a dog, this book is a sweetheart of a story.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1444727079″ target=”_blank” ]A Hundred Pieces of Me from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.