The Wildwater Walking Club: Book 1 of The Wildwater Walking Club series

by Claire Cook

#1 Amazon Bestseller in Walking!
Walking Group Guide and Book Club Questions included.
By the USA Today bestselling author of Must Love Dogs, a fun and inspiring novel about women and friendship - and how even big changes happen one step at a time.
Join Noreen, Tess and Rosie as they walk and talk, talk and walk, tally their steps, share their secrets, and begin putting their lives back together. You'll be lacing up your own sneakers in no time.
"Lively and inspiring!"-Hartford Courant
"A great feel-good story."-Philadelphia Examiner

After losing her boyfriend and her job in one fell swoop, Noreen has no idea what her next step is. So she puts on a new pair of sneakers and a seriously outdated pair of exercise pants, and walks. Before long she's joined by two neighbors as lost as she is and figures out time flies and fitness is actually fun when you're walking with friends. Throw in a road trip to Seattle for a lavender festival, a career-coaching group that looks like a bad sequel to The Breakfast Club, some terrific romantic comedy twists and turns, a quirky multigenerational cast of supporting characters, and the result is a tribute to female friendship that will inspire you to pick up the phone and call all your old friends--or maybe even start your own walking group.

"The Wildwater Walking Club is a quick smart read that will get you thinking about walking, friendship, and making time for the things you love." -Bookreporter.com

"Readers who enjoy a celebration of friendship will want to walk the beach alongside the Wildwater trio." -Midwest Book Review

"The Wildwater Walking Club reminds us of what's important in life - the joy of friendship, the power of a brisk walk, and of course the importance of a good book. I couldn't put it down. -Anisha Lakhani

"The woman of The Wildwater Walking Club are a delightful trio, full of heart and determination. As they - literally - put one foot in front of the other, the three new friends find unlikely paths that point them toward more fulfilling lives. Their journey left me genuinely inspired (and with the curious urge to go out and buy a clothesline)." -Jean Reynolds Page

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Friendship, Womens Fiction, Contemporary, Book Club, Audiobook

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

CLAIRE COOK wrote her first book in her minivan at 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her novel Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now an 8-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 25 books for 40-to-forever women, including her latest series, Bonus Time.

If you have a buried dream, take it from Claire, It's Never Too Late to Shine On!

Stay in the loop for new releases, giveaways, inspiration and insider extras at ClaireCook.com.

Read excerpts at ClaireCook.com/books/

Connect with Claire:
Instagram.com/ClaireCookwrite
Facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage
Linkedin.com/in/clairecookwrite/
BookBub.com/authors/claire-cook
Goodreads.com/clairecook

Reviews

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've read any of this author's previous works....but I did see the movie version of "Must Love Dogs" and liked it.
Thought she could have used more character development. It's never a good thing when you are approaching the end of a novel and still have to straighten out in your head who is who. She did have a couple of good quotes...."making a fully conscious decision to invest in myself" was my favorite.
Not sure I would recommend this to others but it was okay.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a lot of fun. Noreen is a workaholic who has poured her life into marketing shoes for a mega business that is bought by another firm. Wooed by Michael of the acquiring firm, Noreen finds herself 'redundant' in the new company and takes a buyout thinking Michael will go along with her to new adventures. Not to be, Michael dumps her in the most cowardly cad-like fashion- we don't like him.

The upside is that now Noreen has the enviable/unenviable opportunity to really look at her life and beliefs in brand new ways. She starts by using the pedometer ("The least they can do." says the clerk.) that she gets with a pair of walking shoes she buys on her way off the company lot. She meets two charming neighbors, also up for transition, and viola, the Wildwater Walking Club is born. Three pedometers, four pairs of shoes, one lavender festival, and a season of Fresh Horizon meetings set Noreen on a new path. Wry wit and snappy sarcasm keep the pace and tone just right.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes it's important to take a moment to appreciate the simple, quiet things that life has to offer. Usually in that moment you find what's really important to you. And that's what Claire Cook's books do for me--offer up a little perspective through straightforward, engaging storytelling and genuine characters.

The core of The Wildwater Walking Club is friendship. Noreen, Tess, and Rosie have very different lives and personalities, but they complement each other wonderfully. Watching their friendship blossom was heartwarming.

As they walk, the characters' personal struggles are revealed--sometimes willingly, sometimes by accident. Following each character on her journey of self discovery was encouraging. Watching them find ways to move forward was inspirational.

I wish I knew people like Noreen, Tess, and Rosie. They'd be great friends and walking buddies.

(And the lavender recipes sprinkled throughout the book were a nice surprise--I might try some of them!)

I enjoyed this story. It made me want to make changes, taught me that it's never too late to find your way, and reminded me how important it is--not just for physical health, but mental health as well--to lace up my sneakers and walk.

[Beth Brekke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a good premise but it just didn't amount to what I hoped for and what I thought it could. The story takes place over such a short period of time that what happens doesn't seem totally realistic and what could have happened doesn't have a chance to develop. Can you find new meaning, a new career, and new relationships in a month? Maybe but what if those things were all a little harder to earn and more developed over time? What if the conversations ran deeper than "My kids are a pain" and "I don't like the city rules"? The bright spot in this book is the womens' trip to Washington where they really started to connect. The ending wrapped things up but was predictable and didn't really leave me with that warm, fuzzy feeling you'd want from a book like this.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really a 2.5. I enjoyed it, but just felt a little disappointed because I've enjoyed Cook's other books much more.

I feel like Noreen's transition takes place awfully quick. In a little over a month she completely transforms herself. New friends, new relationship with overbearing mother (who turns out to be a good ol' gal), new commitment to health and sane living, and in general a whole new way of approaching the world.
I like what she does, I just don't buy that it could all happen so darn quick.

However, I LOVE the plotline about clothes lines and air drying. Who knew that would be so funny?

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claire Cook never disapointments me and I totally LOVED this novel!!!!

Noreen has lost her job and has taken a company buy-out which will provide her with 18 months of pay and benefits to allow her time to find another job. Not knowing what in the world to do with herself all day at home, she hops into a brand new pair of sneakers
and heads out for a walk.

Soon after, two of her neighbours, Tess who is married and has trouble with her teenaged daughter Hannah, and Rosie who owns a beautiful "lavendar bush farm" join her. The three woman soon forge a strong bond and decide to make walking their daily routine calling
themselves: "The Wildwater Walking Club." They all snap on pedometers and walk 10,000 steps a day together and plot their successes on a map in the garage.

They decided that after so many miles walked, they'll combine their air flight miles and take themselves on various trips together. One of the most meaningful being a gathering of "Lavendar People" in Seattle. What a blast they had together. Weaved in and out
of their "Wildwater Walking Club", each woman is fighting internally with her own problems. But as they walk, they share their secrets, their desires, their wishes and some truths and realize that walking with "friends" is actually fun! It makes me want to
start up my own walking group!!

This is a book you CANNOT MISS!!!! You HAVE TO get it today!!!

Thank you Claire for another totally engrossing, wonderful, fun book!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pretty much picked this book for an easy, quick read to help me get to my goal for the year. I had low expectations. It lived up to its expectations.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I HAVE ENJOYED HER OTHER BOOKS AND FELT THAT WE SHARED A SENSE OF HUMOR.
I JUST NEVER TRULY GOT INVESTED IN THESE CHARACTERS. THEY STARTED OUT WHINE-Y AND I NEVER FELT THAT WE COULD BE FRIENDS,EVEN AS THEY IMPROVED. I JUST DID NOT CARE ENOUGH. I WANT TO KNOW ,NO ,I WANT TO BE DISAPPOINTED WHEN A BOOK ENDS. I WANT TO BELIEVE THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE LIVING ON..

[Janice Doty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book (and author)!! Relaxed dialogue maks for easy reading and I can hear my own thoughts in the narrative. A lovely book about friendship, finding yourself and becoming part of a community.

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it hard that the main character, Noreen, becomes best buds with these two neighbors and jumps a plane for a weekend away with them in about 2 weeks time. What was going to be a goal of walking to earn a trip away quickly became let's go now so let's use all our frequent flyer miles. Where did Tess and Rose get so many miles and they all happen to be on the same airline? And how on earth could they get THREE tickets on the same flights using miles for a trip less than 14 days away?

I just didn't see the friendship in this book. Especially since they don't interact at all besides the morning walks. They don't have much in common except geography. And they don't even seem to have fun together. There is always one person unhappy that they are the odd man out when walking or one person disagreeing with the other two which leads to hurt feelings (usually Tess) and feather smoothing (usually Rose) with Noreen standing around doing nothing. I guess Noreen is good for being a shoe provider but that's it.

Noreen did not know Tess and Rosie at all before her "buyout". Which really is a fancy way of saying "laid off with severance". So just because she's home during the day she's got two new BFFs?

And then they were going to invite a random teacher from New Orleans whose blog Tess reads? That's just a recipe for disaster. Between the three of them, these ladies have no sense. Which would explain why they did not listen to any warnings when walking 3 miles out to a lighthouse at dusk and were surprised to be stranded for the night. DUH.

I do like Noreen's mother, Lo. She's a hot ticket. Doesn't seem like Noreen ever really makes an effort to connect with her mother or spend time with her mother. Though she sure does like her mom cooking and doing laundry for her. Noreen is very self-centered. I would like Clair Cook to write a book about Lo and Kent as active seniors finding love after the death of a spouse.

My biggest gripe is with the narrator. I can't stand the way she pronounces Rosie (roh-see) and lavender (lahh-ven-dar) which are said on nearly every single page since the character Rosie owns a lavender farm and the three characters go to a lavender festival in Washington. She also pronounces peninsula (pen-IN-Suuuuu-la) strange but that isn't in the book for very long.

I can't imagine eating nothing but dishes with lavender in them for one full weekend either. I'm kind of done with lavender now which is too bad because I always liked it. Now it just reminds me of this book. We drove by the Cape Cod Lavender Farm over the weekend and I just said "noooooooo....no lavender!!!"

[Judy Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Claire Cook as between reading my serious novels, I like to catch up with some of the books I have missed by Claire. This was an enjoyable read, and as usual it is about reinventing yourself with lots of laughs along the way.

Nora works for an athletic shoe company and it has been bought out. She makes a deal with money and perks to quit which is difficult considering she was a workaholic. She of course, meets the neighbors Rosie and Tess who work from home, and they form the Wildwater Walking Club. They are a support team for one another and band together to solve the problems of the neighborhood community, while building special friendships. During this time Noreen reflects on her life to begin over and start a new path.

Makes you want to get up and start walking --get rejuvenated! As always, with Claire’s books – lots of fun banter, wit, humor, and sass along the way. (Nice front cover)!

[Missa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was whelmed by this book. I was not invested in the characters, and when the author had written a passage I knew she wanted me to be crying at, I was saying "meh."
I think she's got a thing for Hondas...? When the love interest picks up the protagonist, he never picks her up, or even picks her up in his car. He always picks her up "in his Honda" or "in his blue Honda." weird.
I wouldn't recommend this book. Even the book club questions at the back were pretty damn pedestrian and not even thought provoking.
The best thing I can say about this book is that it counts toward my goal of 50 books this year.

[8383WB · Rating 3 out of 5]

So now I'm looking to get a pedometer and grow lavender! As a walker (of an undetermined number of steps--hence the pedometer), it was enjoyable to tag along and share the trials, travels and triumphs of three middle-aged walkers. Shallow/predictable? Yes. But sweet enough to make you want to put your sneakers on and walk and listen to their story. And now I'm determined to visit the lavender
farm on the Cape that was mentioned in the story!

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will make you want to buy a pedometer and invest in some lavender for your garden. Three women who have never previously met, despite living in the same neighborhood for years, decide to form a daily walking club. Soon, their friendship develops as each contributes something to the relationship. This is a happy rejuvenating book with several recipes that involve lavender (one of the women owns a lavender farm).

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Snooze fest, I couldn't wait to finish just to move on...

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy summer read about relearning what needs to change to get your life back to normal after an abrupt change in your circumstances.

[Sue Babovec]

Read totally based on the cover of the book as seen at the library. Proved to be a good study of character and friendship and how we influence one another - for good and not so good.

[Noemi Welsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want lavender everywhere! What a great reminder for mental health; it’s never too late to start a new adventure! And I totally want to NOT be behind a desk either! Do something that makes you smile and happy. Great book to read on the beach. Not a book I would pick up usually but it was great!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little story of people finding their way into a walking club and then learning life lessons. Wholesome and a quick read!

[Angela]

dnf @ pg 43 just blah

[Julie Burenga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while, I just want to read a feel good book and this one did not disappoint. This was a book about three neighbors who become fast new friends who embark on a walking adventure. I enjoyed this author’s easy writing style, the likable characters and the humorous situations they became involved in.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick “chick” read…not really quite a three, but more enjoyable than a two.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a popular saying that a journey of a thousand mile begins with a single step and after reading The Wildwater Walking Club, this saying proves more true than ever before. Noreen Kelly has just taken a buy-out from the company she's worked at for eighteen years as well as been dumped by her boyfriend Micheal all on the same day.

After a few days of wallowing in self-pity, Noreen decides to go outside and take a walk. While intially she walks in the neighborhood by herself, she soon becomes friends with her next door neighor Tess and they began to go on daily walks together. As each day passes, Nora begins to feel better about her situation and begins to discover things that she was to busy to notice before since she was wrapped up in her job. One day while Noreen and Tes are walking, they pass by a lavendar farm and instantly form a friendship with the farm's owner Rosie. With a shared love of walking and lavendar, these three women decide to create the Wildwater Walking Club.

As the months pass by, Noreen becomes confident and begins to juggle relationships with former co-workers, a self-help group for unemployed baby boomers, a nosy mother and her new friendships, she eventually realizes that work should be something you love to do, it shouldn't define who you are as a person.

I liked that this book was a very fast read; I actually finished the whole book in one day and the characters were likable. I didn't like how the lavender recipes were placed in the book, I would have prefered the recipes to be found at the end of the book so that if the reader was interested in creating some of the items mentioned in the book, they would have the option to do so.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The main character, Noreen "Nora", works in a large athletic shoe corpoation, until it is bought out and she is encouraged by Michael ( a member of the buy out team), to accept a buy out of her own. She gets 18 months of income and lots of perks to quit. After she leaves, she finds out that not having a job is hard since she was a workaholic.

She meets up with her neighbors, Rosie and Tess, who work from home and the form the Wildwater Walking Club. They are able to help each other while walking their 10000 steps every day. Tess is ticked off with the community's ban on drying laundry outside. Rosie struggles to keep the family business, The Lavendar Farm, going. Nora just keeps struggling with not having a job and what she wants to do in life. Each lady supports the other and helps sort out the problems each is facing.

My favorite part of the book is when, as a protest of the air drying ban, the three of them plan and carry out a little civil disobedience when the post protest signs all the over the community's commons and dump soap in the fountain.

[Stacey Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, funny and inciteful. The author was the typical workaholic, had not even been in backyard since she moved into her house. I was looking for something light, fast and motivational and this served me well. The author finds new friends, a new love, an earthy hobby and a new life when she is 'tricked' into taking a buyout from her longterm job. The thee women (Noreen, Tess, and Rosie) couldn't be more different, all with different issues that they resolve when they start walking together. Bonus--Romance still exists well into old age, you can still be a rebel and a housewife and (not so shockingly) animal print thongs come in many sizes and appeal to the mature set too. The author concludes you have to live your life in full--now. She is soooooo right!! It reminded me of my husband;s favorite saying... 'jobs are man-made, make the money, don't let the money make you'. Great summer reading. I ordered two of her previous novels as well, Multiple Choice and Ready to Fall.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Noreen loses her job and her boyfriend in quick succession, she finds herself at loose ends. On the up side, she gets the chance to bond with her neighbors and the three women begin walking every day. This develops into a plot to save the Lavender Farm, stop the ban on clotheslines, take a trip, and just live life to its fullest.

This is a very pleasant read. There are no huge revelations here, nothing earth-shattering, just a good story with enjoyable, realistic characters. Funny, sad, touching, and even triumphant at times, I would recommend this to all my women friends. Strap on your walking shoes and enjoy yourselves. I'm going to see what else Claire Cook has to offer. This book is the perfect "summer read".

NOTE: although the author lives in Massachusetts, it's quite obvious she has spent some time in Seattle and the Northwest. She got all the details right, and her descriptions of the Lavender Festival in Sequim and Pike Market are spot-on.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer is coming and so ,of course, is a new, hilarious book by Claire Cook (Must Love Dogs, Summer Blowout, Life's A Beach). This one follows 32 days in the lives of 3 neighboring women who come together for fellowship and understanding as they set their pedometers for their daily walks. Noreen just took a buyout from her job and got dumped by her boyfriend. Tess is a school teacher suffering through her daughter's last contentious summer at home before leaving for college. And Rosie is a "tweener", raising young sons and taking care of her father and his lavender farm after the death of her mother. Cook once again blends familiar and serious issues with her keen sense of humor to serve up yet another summer treat for her vast legion of fans.

[Tattered Cover Book Store]

Summer is coming and so ,of course, is a new, hilarious book by Claire Cook. This one follows 32 days in the lives of 3 neighboring women who come together for fellowship and understanding as they set their pedometers for their daily walks. Noreen just took a buyout from her job and got dumped by her boyfriend. Tess is a school teacher suffering through her daughter's last contentious summer at home before leaving for college. And Rosie is a "tweener", raising young sons and taking care of her father and his lavender farm after the death of her mother. Cook once again blends familiar and serious issues with her keen sense of humor to serve up yet another summer treat for her vast legion of fans.

[Nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a mildly diverting read. Story is about 3 women who start walking together. It's told from the point of view of one of them so you never really know what's going on in the lives of the other two. Seemed formulaic. The political issue they decide to confront is the town's clothesline ban. Noreen, the narrator, took a severance package when the sneaker company she works for is bought out. She's at loose ends with 18 months of salary and a house. Really couldn't relate to her 'problems'. Of course by the last chapter, she's figured it all out, launched a new business and started a romance with a 'nice guy'.
The cover art is colorful but unrelated to the story. Should be 3 pairs of sneakers and in a field of lavendar.