Review: Wish You Were Here by Bernadette Eden

 Wish You Were Here is a touching and emotional story of love, loss and forgiveness.

Sally is struggling to keep the caravan park she opened with her late husband going. The park had been their dream and now she had lost Mark she held on tightly to that dream.

A new resort is opening nearby that will surely take away business and her eleven-year-old son needs to attend a more accommodating high school, which will cost more money she doesn't have. And now her husband's best friend Jagger is back in town. Everyone, including her two children, adores him, which makes Sally even more annoyed.

"I found his personality irritating and arrogant and could never understand how he and Mark had stayed such good friends even if they had grown up together."

"When had I become this snipping and snarling person? Someone who always had their guard up?" 

Wish You Were Here is not only a story of the struggles of single parenthood and hardships of life in the country but also of loss, mental health and not being afraid to ask for help.

The story has an underlying sadness however Bernadette Eden has added plenty of humour and the knowledge that the family do come out the other end okay help to overcome the sombre themes.

This is a story about holding on to that dream even when it's crumbling around you and knowing when it's time to let go and move forward.

Hidden secrets are revealed, confessions voiced and hope triumphs in this poignant and witty story about a family at breaking point.

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: HQ Fiction

Publication date: 1st December 2026

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 304

RRP: AU$34.99 (trade paperback)

Source: ARC courtesy of the publisher

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