The Road to Tender Hearts

'A moving, unforgettable story about the power we have to change our lives' Alison Espach, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People 'I loved every page of this wild, weird, big-hearted book' Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures 'Will live on in your heart long after the book is over' Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles 'A feel-good, feel-sad, warm, dark, and funny road-trip story, in the grand tradition of Little Miss Sunshine' Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich 'The funniest novelist of her generation' ----- US National Indie and USA Today Bestseller New England Book Award Winner || May Indie Next Pick Featured on Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon People Magazine Top Books of 2025 New York Times Best American Road Trip Novels An NPR and Lit Hub Best Book of the Year At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday should be the happiest man in town - but everything in Pondville is another reminder of the child he lost, and the way his marriage fell apart. So, when PJ hears that his high-school sweetheart, Michelle, is unexpectedly back on the market, there's nothing stopping him driving straight to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win her back. But before he can hit the road, a spanner in the works: a tragic incident has suddenly left PJ as the only guardian of his estranged brother's grandchildren. Anyone else might be deterred, but it seems like the newly orphaned kids might enjoy the trip out of town. And PJ's adult daughter, Sophie, has been roped in to help babysit. There's one final surprise passenger - Pancakes, a former therapy cat with a knack for predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ's home . . . For fans of The Wedding People, Margo's Got Money Troubles and Fredrik Backman, a darkly funny and life-affirming road-trip novel about second chances, found family, and a cat called Pancakes, who can predict when someone is going to die. BUCKLE IN FOR THE ROAD TRIP OF A LIFETIME 'Absurdly over-the-top in plot, yet warms like a heated seat' The New York Times 'Miraculous' John Irving 'An ABSOLUTE MUST READ!! . . . Brilliant and heartwarming' ----- 'Laughed out loud and also sobbed uncontrollably' ----- 'A rare and special novel . . . an extraordinary reading experience from beginning to end!' ----- 'Some stories find a way to dig down deep into your heart, burrow there, and then stay for good. I think this will be one of those for me' ----- 'There is really no way to put my love for this book into words' -----

Annie Hartnett is the author of Unlikely Animals, which won the Julia Ward Howe Prize for fiction and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. She is also the author of Rabbit Cake, a finalist for the New England Book Award and a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Hartnett has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs the Accountability Workshops for writers, helping them commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.