NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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
AN NPR AND LIT HUB BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
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.
One Of My Favourites of 2025!
"If Fredrik Backman and Miriam Toews had a baby it would be Annie Hartnett’s The Road to Tender Hearts. This one very much put me in mind of A Man Called Ove and The Flying Troutmans. So if you’ve enjoyed either of those books, this one is for you. Darkly funny, but heartwarming and tender, we follow PJ, a heartbroken, alcoholic, lottery winner who is given custody of his estranged brothers grandchildren - Luna and Oliie. Together with his adult daughter Sophie and a clairvoyant cat named Pancakes, they set out on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush. You will fall in love with each of these endearing characters as they navigate the road, loss, forgiveness, joy and finally get a second chance at doing things right. Oh, my heart. This was so good."
