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The Road to Tender Hearts

The Road to Tender Hearts

A Novel

About the Book

A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

“A miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”—John Irving

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also thinks he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter who’s adrift in her twenties, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a fresh shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.
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Praise for The Road to Tender Hearts

“A long-suffering family finds joy. A clairvoyant cat has premonitions of death and other supernatural talents. Vultures are hoping two orphaned children will stay alive. A dead daughter’s hat talks to her father. A miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”—John Irving

“A feel-good, feel-sad, warm, dark, and funny road-trip story, in the grand tradition of Little Miss Sunshine . . . I fell in love with the characters individually but also as one big, messy family, which is what this tenderhearted book is all about.”—Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich

“The Road to Tender Hearts is a brilliant and poignant journey of family, forgiveness, and rediscovery. This road trip has it all—a cast of quirky characters, unhealed family wounds, attempts to rekindle lost connections, even a cat that can sense death, but most of all, it’s great fun! Hartnett, like always, has drawn such complex, endearing, and hilarious characters, you’ll root for them to the very end. This novel will leave you thinking about your own journeys—both the ones taken and the ones still ahead. It’s a moving, unforgettable story about the power we have to change our lives.”—Alison Espach, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People

“Annie Hartnett writes like no one else. Her knack for spinning a tale both hilarious and gritty, fantastical yet incisive, is on full display in The Road to Tender Hearts. I loved every page of this wild, weird, bighearted book.”—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

“Annie Hartnett has given life to one of my favorite characters I have ever read: PJ Halliday. At sixty-three, in Birkenstocks and a zip-up sweater stitched with polar bears, good with women despite his flatulence, and charmingly dependent on his ex-wife and her new husband, PJ is, like “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski, one of those iconic characters you just can’t help falling in love with and who will live on in your heart long after the book is over.”—Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles

“The Road to Tender Hearts is the ultimate road trip novel: a zany, heartfelt blend of dysfunction, humor, healing, and Annie Hartnett’s signature poignancy and wit. This story of family, forgiveness, and moving forward is a balm for anyone who’s ever been too hard on themselves, offering a compassionate reminder that we’re all just figuring it out as we go. I was moved, delighted, and captivated from start to finish.”—Emily Habeck, author of Shark Heart
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About the Author

Annie Hartnett
Annie Hartnett is the author of Unlikely Animals, which won the Julia Ward Howe Prize for fiction and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. She is also the author of Rabbit Cake, a finalist for the New England Book Award and a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Hartnett has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs the Accountability Workshops for writers, helping them commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. More by Annie Hartnett
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