Kate moved from London to start her family in the countryside but now, after a few months she's struggling. Phoebe is a mental health nurse who puts her patients above herself and now she's struggling. Both have a love of swimming and stumble across the local wild swimming club. Just as they find themselves and a new set of friendships everything is under threat, can they pull together and save what they have?
I love a new Libby Page book! There's a real sense of comfort in reading these novels, a new one is a warm treat for when the reader is low and this is no exception. The underlying theme here is loneliness and the impacts on mental health. This is not an easy topic to handle sensitively and Page does it wonderfully. ( )

The Lifeline is a follow-on novel to The Lido, Libby Page's first novel. Readers of that book will remember Kate, one of the main characters, but if you haven't read it you can still read The Lifeline as things have moved on by a few years and anything important is explained. I would just add that I highly recommend The Lido if you haven't read it yet.

In The Lifeline, the story alternates between new mother, Kate, and mental health nurse, Phoebe. Kate has moved to Somerset with her husband and baby daughter for a few reasons, mainly the close proximity of her family and for a more relaxed pace of life. Motherhood isn't quite turning out how she thought it would though, and as she struggles through she needs something to make her feel like her old self again. Phoebe absolutely loves her job and gives so much of herself to her patients at the expense of her own mental health. Both Kate and Phoebe end up being drawn to a local river and then into the river swimming group, and it's there that they feel able to relax and truly be themselves.

I follow Libby Page on social media and recognise a lot of her in Kate's story. I thought the way she writes about being a new parent was spot on and so much of it resonated with me. I also really loved the Somerset village life, the independent shops and cafes, and the sense of community which made for such an appealing setting. I want to be eating at the Italian deli and wandering down the riverbank to the Kingfisher Café and Book Barge. I won't be tempted into wild swimming, but despite that I could sense the calm freedom that the river offers to all the characters.

The Lifeline is a candid look at two big issues: motherhood and mental health, but it's also crammed with friendship and love. It's a joyful and uplifting novel full of heart, beautifully written with such empathy for the characters who I really loved reading about. What a lovely book! ( )