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The Wilder Path
Climate. Nature. Family. Love.
Climate activist Rosalie becomes caught on a cliff path by an unexpected storm on a beautiful winter's day and takes shelter in a small cave overlooking the sea, but a landslide traps her there. Nobody knows where she is, and not only is she injured, she's running out of food and water.
Caught between the cliffs and the unforgiving storm, Rosalie’s fight for survival becomes a reckoning with her troubled past. She grapples with the weight of her own losses, heartbreak, and the fractured bond with the son she still senses, like a whisper in the wind. As the injured bird by her side mirrors her struggles, Rosalie is forced to confront the storms within, as much as those outside. With time slipping through her fingers and danger closing in, she faces the ultimate question: can she find a way back—not just to safety, but to herself?
“A beautiful book. Tender, twisting and turning. Life seen through the eyes of a mother haunted. So beautifully written and full of surprises. Thank you so much to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.” ***** Debbie Jaggers, Netgalley reviewer
Climate activist Rosalie becomes caught on a cliff path by an unexpected storm on a beautiful winter's day and takes shelter in a small cave overlooking the sea, but a landslide traps her there. Nobody knows where she is, and not only is she injured, she's running out of food and water.
Caught between the cliffs and the unforgiving storm, Rosalie’s fight for survival becomes a reckoning with her troubled past. She grapples with the weight of her own losses, heartbreak, and the fractured bond with the son she still senses, like a whisper in the wind. As the injured bird by her side mirrors her struggles, Rosalie is forced to confront the storms within, as much as those outside. With time slipping through her fingers and danger closing in, she faces the ultimate question: can she find a way back—not just to safety, but to herself?
“A beautiful book. Tender, twisting and turning. Life seen through the eyes of a mother haunted. So beautifully written and full of surprises. Thank you so much to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.” ***** Debbie Jaggers, Netgalley reviewer
296 pages, Paperback
Published June 3, 2025
80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 28, 2025
3.5
The Wilder Path is ostensibly a book about grief. The narrator, Rosalie (Roly), begins the story trapped in a cave after an accident has left her stranded. Her companion is an injured cormorant and, as her supplies dwindle, she contemplates what has brought her to this place.
Her story revolves around her son, Jonnie, a young man with big ideals who has lost his life protesting on a Greenpeace ship. After Jonnie's death Roly comes to realise that she barely knew her grown son and the causes he has been trying to tell her about - mass extinction, global warming etc - have been dismissed by both Roly and husband, Hugo.
The rest of the book delves into Roly's increasing involvement in living a greener life but her methods are often difficult to accept and she gradually becomes obsessed with this one topic to the exclusion of everything and everyone else in her life.
I found A Wilder Path quite a hard book to read as it is set starting at a time when global warming was considered a crank subject. I'm quite a sensitive sort and reading about the destruction of the planet affected me quite badly, so much so that I considered NFA'ing this novel - much as Roly's friends treat her predictions of doom.
There was very little light in this book and it can be quite depressing at points. I would have liked some small optimism to shine through. Nonetheless, Roly's descent into mania is well observed and her inability to process Jonnie's death is poignant.
I'd recommend this book for anyone struggling in this world.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Aurora Metro Books for the advance review copy.
The Wilder Path is ostensibly a book about grief. The narrator, Rosalie (Roly), begins the story trapped in a cave after an accident has left her stranded. Her companion is an injured cormorant and, as her supplies dwindle, she contemplates what has brought her to this place.
Her story revolves around her son, Jonnie, a young man with big ideals who has lost his life protesting on a Greenpeace ship. After Jonnie's death Roly comes to realise that she barely knew her grown son and the causes he has been trying to tell her about - mass extinction, global warming etc - have been dismissed by both Roly and husband, Hugo.
The rest of the book delves into Roly's increasing involvement in living a greener life but her methods are often difficult to accept and she gradually becomes obsessed with this one topic to the exclusion of everything and everyone else in her life.
I found A Wilder Path quite a hard book to read as it is set starting at a time when global warming was considered a crank subject. I'm quite a sensitive sort and reading about the destruction of the planet affected me quite badly, so much so that I considered NFA'ing this novel - much as Roly's friends treat her predictions of doom.
There was very little light in this book and it can be quite depressing at points. I would have liked some small optimism to shine through. Nonetheless, Roly's descent into mania is well observed and her inability to process Jonnie's death is poignant.
I'd recommend this book for anyone struggling in this world.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Aurora Metro Books for the advance review copy.
June 29, 2025
For a very long time, grief was an abstract concept for me. Only when I experienced it first hand after the passing of my father, seeing myself and those of my family, I realized how it impacts each of us differently and how we all react to it.
But when a parent sees their fully grown adult child pass, the grief is unimaginable. A life taken before its fully realized, to see ones own child's life is cut short, moving forward is not always easy or simple. The last time Rosalie saw her son or had any contact with him was during Christmas when her husband and her son argued over climate change and her son's insistence on choosing climate science as a career. Over next few months they don't talk or write or visit, only to hear about his untimely demise. This changes the course of family dynamics - twin teenage sons, a daughter and her husband who has certain condescension towards ideas that clash against his own.
In an effort to understand her son, Rosalie looks into his life, meets his best friends and tries to understand the crisis the planet is under. She experiences loneliness in her grief- with her children moving forward in their lives and her husband internalizing the loss and moving on. The journey she takes to understand her son transforms her and her future, to lead a life her son would have been proud of.
A marvelous work about grief, loss and the ideologies we choose to believe, the impact our lives and choices have on those who love us.
Thank you to Netgalley and Aurora Metro Books for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
But when a parent sees their fully grown adult child pass, the grief is unimaginable. A life taken before its fully realized, to see ones own child's life is cut short, moving forward is not always easy or simple. The last time Rosalie saw her son or had any contact with him was during Christmas when her husband and her son argued over climate change and her son's insistence on choosing climate science as a career. Over next few months they don't talk or write or visit, only to hear about his untimely demise. This changes the course of family dynamics - twin teenage sons, a daughter and her husband who has certain condescension towards ideas that clash against his own.
In an effort to understand her son, Rosalie looks into his life, meets his best friends and tries to understand the crisis the planet is under. She experiences loneliness in her grief- with her children moving forward in their lives and her husband internalizing the loss and moving on. The journey she takes to understand her son transforms her and her future, to lead a life her son would have been proud of.
A marvelous work about grief, loss and the ideologies we choose to believe, the impact our lives and choices have on those who love us.
Thank you to Netgalley and Aurora Metro Books for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
June 5, 2025
This is such a beautiful exploration of grief and the lifelong impact of losing a child. Rosalie finds herself trapped in a cave on the edge of a cliff with no safe way out. There is storm raging all around her. While she contemplates her situation, she reflects on the years since she lost the most precious of things... her son Johnnie. She thinks over the dramatic turn of events and how she has tried to make him proud and follow in his footsteps.
This is such a poignant look at loss and how this shapes us and changes our world view. There are also themes of climate change and sustainability within the story.
I liked the dual timelines of Rosalie's current plight but also her reflections of a life she once lived. I thought this worked well. The claustrophobic cave mirrors the tight hold of grief and this made for such a moving story.
The other characters all had their part to play, I enjoyed the twins and there black and white Outlook on life. I thought the author did a wonderful job of exploring how we all deal with loss in our own way.
With thanks to the author, publisher and Love Books Tours for providing a copy of the book.
This is such a poignant look at loss and how this shapes us and changes our world view. There are also themes of climate change and sustainability within the story.
I liked the dual timelines of Rosalie's current plight but also her reflections of a life she once lived. I thought this worked well. The claustrophobic cave mirrors the tight hold of grief and this made for such a moving story.
The other characters all had their part to play, I enjoyed the twins and there black and white Outlook on life. I thought the author did a wonderful job of exploring how we all deal with loss in our own way.
With thanks to the author, publisher and Love Books Tours for providing a copy of the book.
June 3, 2025
3.5⭐️
One line review - A beautifully written and thought provoking environmental fiction.
I will admit it took me a while to get into this book, as it does fall outside my usual reading genre. However, the way the author weaves together the themes of family, loss, climate change and mental health it was so incredibly powerfully done. I was left wondering whether the climate crisis was a metaphor for Roly’s personal life or if her life was the metaphor for the planet’s issues. This was a deeply thought provoking read.
One line review - A beautifully written and thought provoking environmental fiction.
I will admit it took me a while to get into this book, as it does fall outside my usual reading genre. However, the way the author weaves together the themes of family, loss, climate change and mental health it was so incredibly powerfully done. I was left wondering whether the climate crisis was a metaphor for Roly’s personal life or if her life was the metaphor for the planet’s issues. This was a deeply thought provoking read.
January 5, 2026
This novel follows Roly (Rosalie) as she relives her past while trapped in a cave in the present. Through her memories, we learn about her son, Jonnie, who was seen as a radical climate extremist by his parents, both of whom dismissed climate change as a hoax. Jonnie died nearly twenty years earlier in a tragic accident while fighting as a climate activist.
As Roly reflects on her past, we witness her gradual awakening to the reality of climate change, alongside a descent into severe climate anxiety that begins to dominate her daily life and all of her relationships. This anxiety is deeply intertwined with her unresolved grief, shaping how she understands both the world and her own past.
The first half of the book felt like a striking and thoughtful work of eco-fiction, a genre I’ve mostly encountered through dystopian stories. In the second half, it becomes clear that this is ultimately a novel about grief and how it manifests differently for everyone, and climate change served as the medium through which Roly maintains a connection to her son and seeks forgiveness for herself. Overall, it was a compelling and emotionally gripping read.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
As Roly reflects on her past, we witness her gradual awakening to the reality of climate change, alongside a descent into severe climate anxiety that begins to dominate her daily life and all of her relationships. This anxiety is deeply intertwined with her unresolved grief, shaping how she understands both the world and her own past.
The first half of the book felt like a striking and thoughtful work of eco-fiction, a genre I’ve mostly encountered through dystopian stories. In the second half, it becomes clear that this is ultimately a novel about grief and how it manifests differently for everyone, and climate change served as the medium through which Roly maintains a connection to her son and seeks forgiveness for herself. Overall, it was a compelling and emotionally gripping read.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
June 5, 2025
Ad / gifted review
This is not my usual style of book, but The Wilder Path had me hooked. I kept telling myself ‘one more chapter’ until I’d read the book in a day😂
This is a story of grief, memory, and the painful ways humans try to understand one another. It’s just beautiful and haunting. Rosalie’s a deeply human character. I felt deep empathy for her, as well as real annoyance at some stages! Her loneliness, her stubbornness, her aching love for her son makes her such a strongly written character.
Deborah Tomkins writes with such detail, and I love how she’s able to switch timelines so effortlessly.
This is moving, haunting story. Not a fast paced read, but a deeply rewarding one.
Thank you so much to Deborah Tomkins, Aurora Metro, and Love Books Tours for gifting me this read🩷
This is not my usual style of book, but The Wilder Path had me hooked. I kept telling myself ‘one more chapter’ until I’d read the book in a day😂
This is a story of grief, memory, and the painful ways humans try to understand one another. It’s just beautiful and haunting. Rosalie’s a deeply human character. I felt deep empathy for her, as well as real annoyance at some stages! Her loneliness, her stubbornness, her aching love for her son makes her such a strongly written character.
Deborah Tomkins writes with such detail, and I love how she’s able to switch timelines so effortlessly.
This is moving, haunting story. Not a fast paced read, but a deeply rewarding one.
Thank you so much to Deborah Tomkins, Aurora Metro, and Love Books Tours for gifting me this read🩷
August 9, 2025
This book appeared interesting based on the blurb, and started out fairly strong, so I expected it to go places. But, after we learn of the key plot points of Jonnie’s death and Rosalie’s being stuck in the cave, very little happened for the remainder of the book. Most of the book is a very very very slow meltdown of a marriage. At times I felt for Rosalie in her working through her grief over her son, but mostly I just kept waiting for something to happen, and it never did. The climate change information would have benefitted from being grounded in more scientific literature; there is so much excellent climate science information out there and I didn’t feel that this book made use of it (no footnotes or references). So this made it less realistic that Rosalie was doing the research described in the novel. Overall, a worthy debut but not as strong as other climate fiction I’ve read.
I did learn one thing from this book: that the tin mines in Cornwall extended under the ocean, into the seafloor. Submarine mines?? Crazy. Some are now UNESCO world heritage sites. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botal...
Thanks NetGalley and Aurora Metro Books for e-ARC. Honest review posted in return.
I did learn one thing from this book: that the tin mines in Cornwall extended under the ocean, into the seafloor. Submarine mines?? Crazy. Some are now UNESCO world heritage sites. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botal...
Thanks NetGalley and Aurora Metro Books for e-ARC. Honest review posted in return.
January 21, 2026
3.75🌟 If you were stuck in a cave with no way out, where would your mind transport you?
This is NOT a light book or a book to be taken lightly. Roly grieves people, she grieves for the climate, she grieves for her old and current self. So much pressure for so so long. We sit with her in that cave, reliving her most precious and vulnerable memories and getting increasingly frustrated at how things played out.
This book will educate you and devastate you but you’ll be glad you read it.
Thank you to #NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This is NOT a light book or a book to be taken lightly. Roly grieves people, she grieves for the climate, she grieves for her old and current self. So much pressure for so so long. We sit with her in that cave, reliving her most precious and vulnerable memories and getting increasingly frustrated at how things played out.
This book will educate you and devastate you but you’ll be glad you read it.
Thank you to #NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
January 18, 2026
A poignant story about grief over the loss of a son entwined with grief over climate change. Recommended.
January 27, 2026
The story focuses on Roly (Rosalie) both in the present day trapped in a cave after a horrific storm interweaved with her reflections and flashbacks into the past. They start from a fallout between her and her husband and their young son, Jonnie who wants to join a climate activist mission on a Greenpeace boat. Then it moves onto their grief after Jonnie’s untimely death and how the subsequent years for Roly and her husband pan out.
The exploration of Roly’s raw grief to losing her oldest son with his whole adult life no longer ahead of him and her pursuit to honour her son’s memory was a really interesting concept. At the start, Roly and her husband are both painted as stereotypical climate sceptics but Jonnie’s death and afterwards discovering his commitment to climate crisis research makes Roly question her previous beliefs and fundamentally rethink her approach to life entirely. I enjoyed this book overall even though there were moments when reading about Roly's extreme behaviour or responses were difficult.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Aurora Metro Books for an ebook copy.
The exploration of Roly’s raw grief to losing her oldest son with his whole adult life no longer ahead of him and her pursuit to honour her son’s memory was a really interesting concept. At the start, Roly and her husband are both painted as stereotypical climate sceptics but Jonnie’s death and afterwards discovering his commitment to climate crisis research makes Roly question her previous beliefs and fundamentally rethink her approach to life entirely. I enjoyed this book overall even though there were moments when reading about Roly's extreme behaviour or responses were difficult.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Aurora Metro Books for an ebook copy.
August 24, 2025
Thank you Aurora Metro, Netgalley and Deborah Tomkins for a free electronic ARC of The Wilder Path. Reviews are mine.
Winner of The Virginia Prize for Fiction, The Wilder Path explores Roly's grief that she cannot contain, that grows to a point that she grieves for the world under climate change, following her son's footsteps. The novel explores both motherhood, grief and the response to grief via climate change. The novel felt similar to The Lost Daughter the film, in terms of motherhood.
For the characters, I felt for Roly, for her sadness but I was quite angry with her avoidance of everything, including her family. As her husband puts it, she monopolized the grief and did not care for anything after her loss, still her family tried to survive both themselves and her. It was a realistic portray over how grief affects a mother but I was still angry with Roly, I could not help it.
This is a multi layered novel on how family members react to grief differently, how some people lose themselves in the sea of grief and some try to emerge, how our mothers love us, break us and mend us, and after some time how we try to mend them when we grow up or give up on them. Recommend for anyone who would like to read an emotional novel with ecological fiction.
Winner of The Virginia Prize for Fiction, The Wilder Path explores Roly's grief that she cannot contain, that grows to a point that she grieves for the world under climate change, following her son's footsteps. The novel explores both motherhood, grief and the response to grief via climate change. The novel felt similar to The Lost Daughter the film, in terms of motherhood.
For the characters, I felt for Roly, for her sadness but I was quite angry with her avoidance of everything, including her family. As her husband puts it, she monopolized the grief and did not care for anything after her loss, still her family tried to survive both themselves and her. It was a realistic portray over how grief affects a mother but I was still angry with Roly, I could not help it.
This is a multi layered novel on how family members react to grief differently, how some people lose themselves in the sea of grief and some try to emerge, how our mothers love us, break us and mend us, and after some time how we try to mend them when we grow up or give up on them. Recommend for anyone who would like to read an emotional novel with ecological fiction.
August 13, 2025
Thank you to Aurora Metro Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Roly lives a comfortable life that is upended by grief, and finds herself compelled to take action around climate change.
She recounts this journey as she finds herself stranded in a coastal cave in a storm, with limited supplies.
I found Roly's story quite compelling, although there were times I felt the story lulled a little. I also found the dialogue to be somewhat stilted at times.
An interesting book around society's attitudes to environmental issues, and the lingering effects of grief.
Roly lives a comfortable life that is upended by grief, and finds herself compelled to take action around climate change.
She recounts this journey as she finds herself stranded in a coastal cave in a storm, with limited supplies.
I found Roly's story quite compelling, although there were times I felt the story lulled a little. I also found the dialogue to be somewhat stilted at times.
An interesting book around society's attitudes to environmental issues, and the lingering effects of grief.
June 24, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure what it was about particularly; walking perhaps. How surprised I was a few pages in when the narrator is caught out on a cliff top walk and takes shelter in a sea-cave. The ongoing storm and horrendous weather not only keep her there to ride it out but the conditions lead to a cliff-fall trapping her there.
It is a story of a person slowly coming to terms with their situation and facing the distinct possibility there will be no rescue party. No-one knows she was out for a walk. She has no means of escape. The angry sea on one side, the broken cliff face surrounding her, an unclimbable barrier brooding over her. With little food, limited access to fresh water the days pass with increased confusion but a growing acceptance of her own mortality.
Rather than her life flashing before her eyes she has time to reflect and detail how she got to this point in her life.
This is a personal journey of self-reflection that is so beautifully written we are quickly brought into her story. There is no self-pity or entitlement.
No space for righteous reflection or justification for her life choices. In this way although her decisions and conversion to green issues while alienating others among her family and friends, we never lose empathy for her.
The reason I liked this book so much was this oblique exposure to ideas of global warming through a life deeply changed by the death of her son and then identifying with his values. This isn’t a simple change of tack or some clever insight and understanding but a slow and painful realisation that you couldn’t just observe and remain passive in these issues. In this way; her anger and grief for the Jonnie’s loss when crusading for Greenpeace to “Save the Planet” becomes an open response which leads to her own informed activism.
I loved that she does these things for herself, responding to perceived climate issues and not to champion her son’s memory or fulfil his own life’s work. In the process the story works well as a diary of a life in crisis and one contemplating death, while also presents issues in an informative and interesting way.
Therefore do not feel intimidated by this book. It will not overwhelm you to become self-sufficient, a forager or a Just Stop Oil protestor. Rather embrace it all, fall in love with”Roly” as I did, become informed and enlightened.
A book to enjoy and reflect upon from your own safe space.
It is a story of a person slowly coming to terms with their situation and facing the distinct possibility there will be no rescue party. No-one knows she was out for a walk. She has no means of escape. The angry sea on one side, the broken cliff face surrounding her, an unclimbable barrier brooding over her. With little food, limited access to fresh water the days pass with increased confusion but a growing acceptance of her own mortality.
Rather than her life flashing before her eyes she has time to reflect and detail how she got to this point in her life.
This is a personal journey of self-reflection that is so beautifully written we are quickly brought into her story. There is no self-pity or entitlement.
No space for righteous reflection or justification for her life choices. In this way although her decisions and conversion to green issues while alienating others among her family and friends, we never lose empathy for her.
The reason I liked this book so much was this oblique exposure to ideas of global warming through a life deeply changed by the death of her son and then identifying with his values. This isn’t a simple change of tack or some clever insight and understanding but a slow and painful realisation that you couldn’t just observe and remain passive in these issues. In this way; her anger and grief for the Jonnie’s loss when crusading for Greenpeace to “Save the Planet” becomes an open response which leads to her own informed activism.
I loved that she does these things for herself, responding to perceived climate issues and not to champion her son’s memory or fulfil his own life’s work. In the process the story works well as a diary of a life in crisis and one contemplating death, while also presents issues in an informative and interesting way.
Therefore do not feel intimidated by this book. It will not overwhelm you to become self-sufficient, a forager or a Just Stop Oil protestor. Rather embrace it all, fall in love with”Roly” as I did, become informed and enlightened.
A book to enjoy and reflect upon from your own safe space.
June 4, 2025
The Wilder Path is a poignant and evocative tale that masterfully intertwines themes of survival, personal reckoning, and the deep connections we hold with our past. Set against a dramatic backdrop of cliffs and an impending storm, the story follows Rosalie, a climate activist whose external turmoil mirrors her internal struggles.
From the very beginning, I found myself immersed in such a beautiful landscape, where the crashing waves symbolise Rosalie's own turbulent emotions. The cave, both a sanctuary and a prison, becomes a powerful metaphor for her isolation and the weight of her memories. Rosalie’s reflections on her losses and her fractured relationship with her son add layers of depth to her character, making her journey not just about physical survival, but an emotional and spiritual quest for healing.
The inclusion of an injured bird by her side cleverly mirrors Rosalie's plight. This symbol of vulnerability and resilience emphasises the book's exploration of the interconnectedness of all life, a theme that resonates with the environmental undertones of the narrative.
Overall, this was not just a tale of survival; it was a deeply moving exploration of resilience, the search for redemption, and the enduring bonds that shape us. Tomkins has crafted a narrative that lingers long after the final page, making it a must-read for anyone seeking an evocative story about the human spirit's capacity to endure amidst the storms of life.
June 6, 2025
This was my first time reading an environmentalist novel and it was a very intense experience. It is beautifully written, Rosalie's grief for her son entangled with his and now her grief for a world running into its climate doom. Rosalie is one of the most realistically human characters I have ever read, flawed, veering between passion, hysteria, and detachment. You find yourself sometimes in a position like the people around her she charges with apathy to our world - it can get deeply uncomfortable and a part of you gets so deeply sad and wants to put the book down. I think that is intentional - I'm glad I didn't, because the book is not only educating on our crisis but also a love letter to nature, even in its now so precarious state. It shakes you up but also makes you pause and appreciate what still is.
The only eason I give four stars are the characters of 'The Twins', Rosalie's boys who are every walking twin cliche so many good authors can't seem to help themselves to perpetuate. As a twin myself: no we are not two parts of one person, no we cannot read each others minds, an no we want more company than just ourselves. In a novel that treats all its other characters with such human insight, this cliche was especially dissapointing and it is quite a harmful stereotype.
That being said, I otherwise still deeply reccomend this challenging but beautiful novel. Even if you are very familiar with climate change, it will make you see our world with new eyes :)
The only eason I give four stars are the characters of 'The Twins', Rosalie's boys who are every walking twin cliche so many good authors can't seem to help themselves to perpetuate. As a twin myself: no we are not two parts of one person, no we cannot read each others minds, an no we want more company than just ourselves. In a novel that treats all its other characters with such human insight, this cliche was especially dissapointing and it is quite a harmful stereotype.
That being said, I otherwise still deeply reccomend this challenging but beautiful novel. Even if you are very familiar with climate change, it will make you see our world with new eyes :)
June 6, 2025
I received a copy of this book as part of a tecent book tour. It is a thought-provoking read, at its heart the story of developing awareness and societys response to climate change within a mothers overwhelming love and grief when a favoured adult child unexpectedly dies while estranged from his family following an argument about their response to climate change.
The story is compellingly told using two time lines, the present where Rosalie seeks shelter from a storm becoming trapped for days in a sea cave and the events from 23 years ago leading to events in the cave.
During these years Rosalies mental and physical health deteriorates uncontrollably as she alienates her family and random members of the public, obsessively trying to make everyone aware and telling them to change their life in order to save the planet, regardless of their opinions, feelings, occupations, social situation, personal problems or difficulties. She is oblivious to hurting her husband, forgetting her other 3 children and her only friends failing marriage.
It is only at the end of the book after she "lives out" the end of life on earth while trapped in a cave viewing deaths slow decline that she gets the professional help needed to begin the process of healing her grief and anger and to forgive her son.
The story is compellingly told using two time lines, the present where Rosalie seeks shelter from a storm becoming trapped for days in a sea cave and the events from 23 years ago leading to events in the cave.
During these years Rosalies mental and physical health deteriorates uncontrollably as she alienates her family and random members of the public, obsessively trying to make everyone aware and telling them to change their life in order to save the planet, regardless of their opinions, feelings, occupations, social situation, personal problems or difficulties. She is oblivious to hurting her husband, forgetting her other 3 children and her only friends failing marriage.
It is only at the end of the book after she "lives out" the end of life on earth while trapped in a cave viewing deaths slow decline that she gets the professional help needed to begin the process of healing her grief and anger and to forgive her son.
July 23, 2025
Beautifully conflates the personal with the global
—
In Tomkins’s award-winning and complex novel, the personal and the intimate are inextricably entwined with the global and environmental. On a mild New Year’s Eve, Rosalie is on a cliff walk when the weather turns and she has to seek immediate shelter. Holed up in a tiny cave, the weather becomes steadily worse, and as the cold and her own tiredness overcome her, Rosalie recalls the years that have brought her to this moment, the devastating grief that has driven her to this very spot and this very walk, and the only bright spots in her recent years.
Beautifully conflating personal grief with grief for the planet, Tomkins makes the global into a very personal matter, making Rosalie an extremist voice for environmental responsibility. The family scenes are written with minute attention to detail and the reality of family life; while the depiction of Rosalie’s journey from middle class suburban housewife to eco-warrior are given verisimilitude by Tomkins’s descriptions of the natural world. I only have one question: what happened to the cormorant?
—
In Tomkins’s award-winning and complex novel, the personal and the intimate are inextricably entwined with the global and environmental. On a mild New Year’s Eve, Rosalie is on a cliff walk when the weather turns and she has to seek immediate shelter. Holed up in a tiny cave, the weather becomes steadily worse, and as the cold and her own tiredness overcome her, Rosalie recalls the years that have brought her to this moment, the devastating grief that has driven her to this very spot and this very walk, and the only bright spots in her recent years.
Beautifully conflating personal grief with grief for the planet, Tomkins makes the global into a very personal matter, making Rosalie an extremist voice for environmental responsibility. The family scenes are written with minute attention to detail and the reality of family life; while the depiction of Rosalie’s journey from middle class suburban housewife to eco-warrior are given verisimilitude by Tomkins’s descriptions of the natural world. I only have one question: what happened to the cormorant?
June 6, 2025
Pick it up if you want: realistic climate fiction, a plucky protagonist in her 60’s, fraught family dynamics as our main character figures out how to both survive a historic weather event on her own and how to live in the midst of our existential climate crisis.
This novel was extremely well executed. Tomkins does a brilliant job of portraying Roly, in her growing panic about climate change, as both rightly principled and exceedingly harder and harder to tolerate. This is a tension lots of us grapple with, and I haven’t met a character who quite nails the stakes of both climate change and personal relationships this well. (What to do about all the people who don’t agree with the clear ways we see to change the world for the better? How many of us are having those fractious conversations now?)
I’m not entirely sure the end of the novel gives a satisfying answer to how we are all supposed to get on in the midst of all this, but that might be part of the point.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel was extremely well executed. Tomkins does a brilliant job of portraying Roly, in her growing panic about climate change, as both rightly principled and exceedingly harder and harder to tolerate. This is a tension lots of us grapple with, and I haven’t met a character who quite nails the stakes of both climate change and personal relationships this well. (What to do about all the people who don’t agree with the clear ways we see to change the world for the better? How many of us are having those fractious conversations now?)
I’m not entirely sure the end of the novel gives a satisfying answer to how we are all supposed to get on in the midst of all this, but that might be part of the point.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 11, 2025
I dreamt of Jonnie as a small child, four or five years old. He was running through a meadow, laughing, holding his hand out to me. 'Run, Mummy, run...!'
This book was sad, emotional and stunning, Deborah takes you on a hard journey, Roly's fight for survival both mentally and physically.
The book flowed really well, you were taken through Roly's past and bought back to the present throughout the whole book. Everything was detailed beautifully ♻️❤️
Roly was so misunderstood, what do you mean her boy passed away so she took on his passion and carried on fighting for his beliefs, pushing away everyone around her in the process??? 😭 Roly isn't always necessarily likeable but who would be in her situation.
I couldn't put this book down, once I was into it I thought about it all the time. I still think about it now. It's one of those books that stays with you forever.
Give this a try if you fancy something different and emotional. This book will suit anyone that is interested even slightly in climate change. ♻️
This book was sad, emotional and stunning, Deborah takes you on a hard journey, Roly's fight for survival both mentally and physically.
The book flowed really well, you were taken through Roly's past and bought back to the present throughout the whole book. Everything was detailed beautifully ♻️❤️
Roly was so misunderstood, what do you mean her boy passed away so she took on his passion and carried on fighting for his beliefs, pushing away everyone around her in the process??? 😭 Roly isn't always necessarily likeable but who would be in her situation.
I couldn't put this book down, once I was into it I thought about it all the time. I still think about it now. It's one of those books that stays with you forever.
Give this a try if you fancy something different and emotional. This book will suit anyone that is interested even slightly in climate change. ♻️
June 13, 2025
📆 single, non-linear timeline
👀 3rd person narrative
🐢 -🐇 slow paced
💬 "From the moment he was born and placed into my arms [...] he had a hold on me [...] a hold that tightened until it felt like his hand was around my heart."
Physically this is a lovely book. The cover is simple, yet beautiful and the book is a nice size with thick pages and a nice size font.
At the very heart of this story is a tale of child loss, so there was an underlying
feeling of grief woven in. The loss of her beloved son Jonnie has life long effects for Rosalie, and Tomkins explores this with sensitivity whilst not shying away from the reality of losing a child.
There's also the stark warning of the dangers of climate change, and the way a lot of society reacted in the early days. Actually, a lot of people still think it's not an issue these days.
These two different themes, and the affects they had on one family, were beautifully woven together to create a rich narrative that was really rather beautiful to read. It's the kind of book that I think will stay with me for a long time to come.
👀 3rd person narrative
🐢 -🐇 slow paced
💬 "From the moment he was born and placed into my arms [...] he had a hold on me [...] a hold that tightened until it felt like his hand was around my heart."
Physically this is a lovely book. The cover is simple, yet beautiful and the book is a nice size with thick pages and a nice size font.
At the very heart of this story is a tale of child loss, so there was an underlying
feeling of grief woven in. The loss of her beloved son Jonnie has life long effects for Rosalie, and Tomkins explores this with sensitivity whilst not shying away from the reality of losing a child.
There's also the stark warning of the dangers of climate change, and the way a lot of society reacted in the early days. Actually, a lot of people still think it's not an issue these days.
These two different themes, and the affects they had on one family, were beautifully woven together to create a rich narrative that was really rather beautiful to read. It's the kind of book that I think will stay with me for a long time to come.
May 30, 2025
Environmental fiction at its best
The Wilder Path is environmental fiction at its best, weaving evocative and immersive nature writing with a deep and emotional human story. As the Earth is shaken by a violent storm and anthropogenic destruction, so too is 67-year-old Roly, climate change worrier/warrior, shaken by grief, remembrance, regret. The Earth and Roly take from and give to each other, their paths irrevocably entwined, as she recalls twenty years of action and inaction that have led her to this moment. Yet, despite the overwhelming burden of climate change - on both Roly and the Earth - there is hope here too; as Roly meets her fate, no longer on the Earth but in it, she draws us all towards making the choice to take the wilder path. This is a deeply thought-provoking and moving piece of climate change fiction, lightly and tenderly written. I look forward to more from Deborah Tomkins.
The Wilder Path is environmental fiction at its best, weaving evocative and immersive nature writing with a deep and emotional human story. As the Earth is shaken by a violent storm and anthropogenic destruction, so too is 67-year-old Roly, climate change worrier/warrior, shaken by grief, remembrance, regret. The Earth and Roly take from and give to each other, their paths irrevocably entwined, as she recalls twenty years of action and inaction that have led her to this moment. Yet, despite the overwhelming burden of climate change - on both Roly and the Earth - there is hope here too; as Roly meets her fate, no longer on the Earth but in it, she draws us all towards making the choice to take the wilder path. This is a deeply thought-provoking and moving piece of climate change fiction, lightly and tenderly written. I look forward to more from Deborah Tomkins.
June 2, 2025
With a focus on climate change, grief, and mental health, this was an incredibly powerful read. It was not at all what I was expecting, and it left my emotions feeling in turmoil. I couldn't help but contemplate the world around me whilst I was reading.
Rosalie takes a tumble walking the Cornish coastline and a storm, and the tide leaves her stranded in a cave. Trapped with only a cormorant and her thoughts for company, Roly, as she is affectionately known, begins to confront her grief.
Roly has clearly also gone off path figuratively in her life. I felt so emotional while reading. There are times when her actions are clearly hurting those around her, but I felt immensely sorry for Rosalie. She needs help with her grief.
The book was also intensely thought provoking. Roly is just a tiny dot compared to the issues the planet is facing. I learnt some interesting things, which in turn urged me to do further reading about climate change.
Overall, The Wilder Path is interesting, inspiring, and beautifully written.
Rosalie takes a tumble walking the Cornish coastline and a storm, and the tide leaves her stranded in a cave. Trapped with only a cormorant and her thoughts for company, Roly, as she is affectionately known, begins to confront her grief.
Roly has clearly also gone off path figuratively in her life. I felt so emotional while reading. There are times when her actions are clearly hurting those around her, but I felt immensely sorry for Rosalie. She needs help with her grief.
The book was also intensely thought provoking. Roly is just a tiny dot compared to the issues the planet is facing. I learnt some interesting things, which in turn urged me to do further reading about climate change.
Overall, The Wilder Path is interesting, inspiring, and beautifully written.
June 8, 2025
This is a powerful read set between Cornwall and St Albans. It centres around 67 year old Rosalie (Roly) Danborough a wife, a mum, a friend, a griever. Alone on New Years Eve, against the harsh landscape of Cornwall, Roly feels lonely and hopeless, struggling with her guilt, memories, regrets and tragic loss. The book depicts Cornwall well - its tin mines, wild waves and bleak beauty. The turmoil of the sea is mirrored by the turmoil of Roly’s grief. The book also shines a light on climate change. Roly becomes obsessed with trying to make a difference, going off grid for a time in an attempt to be carbon neutral, promoting paper rather than plastic and recycling everything possible. I found the unimaginable pain that she and Hugo experience very moving, as readers we only hear her story but I felt for Hugo too. I loved the line “Love. The simplistic and most complicated thing of all.” A heart breaking read.
May 22, 2025
This is the kind of book that creeps up on you, you can’t put it down before one more page, one more chapter… what is Rosalie going to do next? Sometimes you feel empathy, sometimes annoyance, occasionally horror but you cannot look away.
Walking a coastal path goes wrong and Roly finds herself trapped. But it’s ok, she’ll be fine… but time goes on… she passes time thinking about her dead son and how little we actually know and understand people. She has a husband who loves her but cannot understand her grief ~ and especially cannot understand the ways she chooses to honour their son.
It’s beautiful, it’s haunting, and it really makes you think about family, and love, and what matters in life. It’s a book I’ll think on long after I’ve closed it.
I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley
Walking a coastal path goes wrong and Roly finds herself trapped. But it’s ok, she’ll be fine… but time goes on… she passes time thinking about her dead son and how little we actually know and understand people. She has a husband who loves her but cannot understand her grief ~ and especially cannot understand the ways she chooses to honour their son.
It’s beautiful, it’s haunting, and it really makes you think about family, and love, and what matters in life. It’s a book I’ll think on long after I’ve closed it.
I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley
June 5, 2025
The Wilder Path is a work of environmental fiction with main themes focusing on climate change, profound grief and mental health issues.
We follow 67 year old Rosalie ( also effectionately known as Roly ), an environmentalist who falls while waking the Cornish coast, and a storm and the tide leaves her stranded in a cave with only a cormorant and her own inner thoughts for company. So she passes the time reflecting on the loss of her Son. She thinks about her loving husband, and wonders why he can't understand her deep grief. She ponders the times she's hurt the people around her.
So all In all, this was an intensely Immotional read. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Tenderly written and haunting, I'm sure, like me, it'll stay with you long after you turn the final page.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
We follow 67 year old Rosalie ( also effectionately known as Roly ), an environmentalist who falls while waking the Cornish coast, and a storm and the tide leaves her stranded in a cave with only a cormorant and her own inner thoughts for company. So she passes the time reflecting on the loss of her Son. She thinks about her loving husband, and wonders why he can't understand her deep grief. She ponders the times she's hurt the people around her.
So all In all, this was an intensely Immotional read. It's thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Tenderly written and haunting, I'm sure, like me, it'll stay with you long after you turn the final page.
4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.
June 8, 2025
This is an important read as Rosalie encompasses the frustration that we should all feel regarding Climate Change. The reason for my 3 star rating is because as much as I've wanted to, I just couldn't move past how Roly essentially neglected those around her as a result of her obsession. Losing her son hit her hard and that felt very real and I liked how she was able to see her son for who he truly was, rather than who she thought he was. I liked how he never left her and was an important part of all her decisions.
But as a mother, it annoyed me that she didn't work harder to have a better relationship with her other three children. She seemed to ignore the luxury she had of not having to work and the space to grow her own food, which many do not! Nevertheless, I'm glad that they stuck by her and this story is a reminder that we can all do our bit.
But as a mother, it annoyed me that she didn't work harder to have a better relationship with her other three children. She seemed to ignore the luxury she had of not having to work and the space to grow her own food, which many do not! Nevertheless, I'm glad that they stuck by her and this story is a reminder that we can all do our bit.
June 8, 2025
This book had me crying, had me feeling all the emotions and took me on a journey. It’s been a while since I had an emotional journey yet like this one and I loved every second. My first real environmental fiction and I have to say probably won’t be my last. But I’d love to see how others compare because the bar that has been set by this read is high!
Rosalie is an amazing character. The strength, the turmoils she goes through, the journey battling her grief and her mental health all creates this wonderful character. I love the switch between timelines to give us much needed backstory and the current timeline following her accident - it works wonderfully.
I loved the read. I love that it challenges thoughts on the current state of the environment. Makes you think. Makes you feel. And overall has created a wonderful story written beautifully.
Rosalie is an amazing character. The strength, the turmoils she goes through, the journey battling her grief and her mental health all creates this wonderful character. I love the switch between timelines to give us much needed backstory and the current timeline following her accident - it works wonderfully.
I loved the read. I love that it challenges thoughts on the current state of the environment. Makes you think. Makes you feel. And overall has created a wonderful story written beautifully.
June 8, 2025
This is heartbreaking with a hopefully beautiful ending for the family!
Imagine your son dies at sea while protesting climate change & you’ve always disagreed with him. Rosalie is heart broken, affected physically and mentally by the loss of her son Johnnie.
It follows the story to how she ends up stranded in a cave on the cliffs during a storm which the thinks is the end of the world. I can’t imagine the sadness and the feelings from losing a child and it becomes everything Rosalie is and believes in. Her husband isn’t necessarily who she had wanted but he comes across as a patient man who himself is lost and doesn’t know how to help her.
I enjoyed this however I was crying at the end!
Imagine your son dies at sea while protesting climate change & you’ve always disagreed with him. Rosalie is heart broken, affected physically and mentally by the loss of her son Johnnie.
It follows the story to how she ends up stranded in a cave on the cliffs during a storm which the thinks is the end of the world. I can’t imagine the sadness and the feelings from losing a child and it becomes everything Rosalie is and believes in. Her husband isn’t necessarily who she had wanted but he comes across as a patient man who himself is lost and doesn’t know how to help her.
I enjoyed this however I was crying at the end!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2025
It’s a book that quietly seeps into the reader’s heart. Rosalie, the protagonist is trapped in a cave during a fierce storm that teaches her lessons about survival, nature, grief and healing.
The book is written in a nice sensitive way with a mixture of Rosalie’s emotional journey and the wildness of the nature.
I liked the way that the story captures the rawness of loss and the hope of what can follow. This book made me feel thoughtful and inspired as a reminder of the strength within every and each one of us. It’s atmospheric, moving and a book that the reader will remember.
If as a reader you like character driven stories with strong sense of place and a message of hope, I would recommend to give it a try.
The book is written in a nice sensitive way with a mixture of Rosalie’s emotional journey and the wildness of the nature.
I liked the way that the story captures the rawness of loss and the hope of what can follow. This book made me feel thoughtful and inspired as a reminder of the strength within every and each one of us. It’s atmospheric, moving and a book that the reader will remember.
If as a reader you like character driven stories with strong sense of place and a message of hope, I would recommend to give it a try.
May 31, 2025
Rosalie becomes trapped in a cave while out for a walk by the ocean in Britain. Her fight for survival is marked with memories of her life where she grapples with crippling grief over the death of her son and the consequences of her actions following his demise.
How isolating grief can become, both for a person and a way of life, is explored as Rosalie becomes a climate activist following her late son’s footprints to the point where it consumes her world.
Beautifully written I would be interested in reading more from this author.
3.5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Aurora Metro Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
How isolating grief can become, both for a person and a way of life, is explored as Rosalie becomes a climate activist following her late son’s footprints to the point where it consumes her world.
Beautifully written I would be interested in reading more from this author.
3.5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Aurora Metro Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
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