Brimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring power and joy of charity shops. As well as the stomach-churning and eye-opening, charity shops offer everyone hope. Lauren has found some gems in her time volunteering.

Female friendships (and sustainable fashion) are at the heart

The narrative follows Gwen who is in her mid-thirties drifting through life as she finds herself unemployed and still single while her friends are all married and busy popping out kids. She speaks little and rarely to her parents whose whole lives seem to revolve around the council’s wheelie-bin timetable. Gwen wants to be a better friend, a better daughter and does her best to reconnect. Her social life used to happen around her and it was easier to go along. But now the pull of a hot bath and cosy night in seems more appealing. Her oldest friend Suze was her saviour but now they barely talk. Gwen doesn’t have any problem making friends, it’s keeping them that she struggles with.You have to prioritise work, family commitments, children, potentially partners, potentially ageing parents (over) friendships, and it becomes much harder. There can be a real disconnect between the friendships we imagined we would have and the friendships that we actually have.” As we watch Gwen clamber over familial relationships, potential romances and sex as well as as best friend who seems impossibly far away, Lauren believes “ Preloved is definitely a love story about friendships more than anything else.” Not wanting to give much away, but I also really loved the story between Gwen and her parents, and how they are handling a personal loss that happened to them. I thought it was so well done. Preloved also reads as a love letter to charity shops. The stories about the different people that visit and volunteer in them feel so real, like I almost expect to run into these characters next time I nip into Cancer Research or Oxfam. I’ll definitely look at these shops with even more fondness in future (and that’s saying something as I do love a charity shop).

Lauren Bravo - David Higham Associates Lauren Bravo - David Higham Associates

This book is an absolute delight from beginning to end. Interspersed with Gwen’s story (our MC) are random vignettes about the various items that make their way through the charity shop (or are they random after all? Read to find out). Equal parts hilarious and bittersweet, the story strolls along at a nice leisurely pace. I love a slow, character-driven story, so this is right up my alley.Preloved is full of sharp observations on life, loss, regret and self-preservation... spilling over with wit and hope. Cleverly interwoven with stories of the myriad reasons items find their way into charity shops, the joy, friendship and ultimate enlightenment Gwen discovers offers a quirky and poignant reminder that one person's trash is always somebody else's treasure." - Julietta Henderson Every character in this book, and every item that is preloved and finding its new home, has something to come to terms with, to face before they can make the next steps in their lives. Gwen is floundering. She is let go from her job and had recently broken things off with her fiancé. Her relationship with her parents is somewhat estranged, and her close friends are all paired off. She decides to clean out her apartment and takes her unwanted items to a second hand store, and while there she decides to volunteer at the store while she lives off of her severance and contemplates what to do as a next step.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads Preloved by Lauren Bravo | Goodreads

Second of all, it’s fully your fault that I lost an entire day to this book instead of just reading it in bits over a few days, as I couldn’t bear to let it out of my hands until I’d finished. There is a glorious mix of characters that work alongside Gwen in the shop that help her in rediscovering life. Characters such as Nicholas who confuses Gwen as they go on a date to the National Gallery. She finds his boundless enthusiasm appealing and he seems to want to really know about her. Connie who works alongside Gwen is in her early sixties and very outspoken. She becomes a mother-figure for Gwen as she finds them spending more time together. The less is more approach might have tightened the book and given it more spark. Instead I found the early promise lost in a way-too-long ramblings. From 2002 onwards I was a columnist for The Worthing Herald, which they were kind/desperate enough to let me carry on doing every week for 11 years. Preloved is, to me, a story of connections, of memories and about how you need to face the past to move into the future.I feel like last year I read a fair few books about chaotic 20-somethings who don’t know what to do with their lives (sweet summer children) – so imagine my delight to read a novel about a middle-aged woman who doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life! Is 38 middle-aged? I’m turning 42 in a couple weeks and I deffo feel middle-aged, and also sort of have no idea what I’m doing… Having unloaded her physical baggage at the charity shop she ends up starting a new journey, volunteering her time in the same shop where her engagement ring is now an item waiting to be loved by someone new. Dazzlingly witty, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss and being true to yourself no matter the expectations. Lovingly celebrating the enduring power and joy of charity shops. The book alternates between chapters involving items that find their way to the second hand store and Gwen's narrative about her life and learning how to move forward. About midway through, the pieces slotted together and I realized the significance of many of the "item" chapters. This is when the story began to take on more meaning for me and the flow felt more natural. Beautifully considered and wonderfully crafted with characters who feel true to life. Full of witty observations and dazzling retorts and withering reactions... it won't disappoint." - Justin Myers