Introduction

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

“A miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”—John Irving

AN NPR AND LIT HUB BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also thinks he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter who’s adrift in her twenties, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a fresh shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

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Excerpt

Chapter 2

Dr. Gust’s obituary ran in The South Coast Daily Sun two weeks later, on May 3, 2014, to be exact, yet another day that PJ Halliday, a sixty-three-year-old Pondville resident, would wake up, as usual, all alone in his house full of shit. That morning, PJ had no clue, not the slightest inkling, how much his life was about to change. PJ Halliday didn’t read Dr. Gust’s obituary, even though it was right next to another obituary that day—the one that would change his life—and all of it would be connected in the end. PJ didn’t know Dr. Gust, so it wouldn’t have meant much to him, that the man died slumped over his desk, using the keyboard as a final pillow. During the autopsy, an extraordinary amount of cat hair would be found in Dr. Gust’s nostrils, sucked in off the keyboard during Dr. Gust’s last breaths. That wasn’t in the newspaper, of course; those kinds of details never make it into obituaries. But again, PJ Halliday didn’t read Dr. Gust’s obituary. It was another obituary, the one printed right next to it, that would catch PJ’s attention and set him off on a new life course. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the Publisher - Added by Pauline

1. How does PJ Halliday's past, including the estrangement with his daughter and the collapse of his marriage, influence his decisions throughout the story? 

2. How does winning the lottery affect PJ's life, and how does it affect his relationships? 

3. Discuss the significance of PJ's decision to drive across the country to reunite with Michelle Cobb. What does this journey signify for him? 

4. What is the importance of Pancakes in the story? How does the cat's presence affect PJ and the other characters? 

5. Do you think PJ would’ve been able to make the trip if he hadn’t received guardianship over Ollie and Luna?

6. Sophie and PJ are at odds with each other during most of the road trip. How does their relationship evolve over the course of the book? 

7. How do Ollie and Luna help in PJ’s transformation from the beginning to the end? How do they help him confront his problems? 

8. Discuss the theme of second chances in the book. How do PJ's experiences reflect the possibility of redemption? 

9. Discuss the portrayal of aging and health in the book. How do PJ's heart attacks and his concerns about his health influence the narrative? 

10. What message does The Road to Tender Hearts convey about family? What was the biggest lesson you learned? 

Weblinks

»	Publisher's book info
»	Author Annie Hartnett's web site
»	Follow the author on Instagram
»	Interview with the Author

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