EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › Twenty Wishes

Cover of Twenty Wishes

Twenty Wishes

Debbie Macomber

First published 2008 · 569 pages

A gentle, heartwarming exploration of grief, healing, and the unexpected ways we find our way back to joy.

Where to buyBooks like this

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like sitting down with a warm cup of tea and a trusted friend. It unfolds at a leisurely, comforting pace, wrapping the reader in a cozy yet bittersweet atmosphere where grief is acknowledged but hope always prevails. The prose is straightforward and earnest, focusing entirely on the emotional landscapes of its characters as they navigate loss and the daunting prospect of starting over. It is a story deeply rooted in the healing power of female friendship, found family, and small acts of courage. Readers who crave gentle, low-stakes contemporary fiction about women lifting each other up and finding unexpected second chances will find this an incredibly soothing and uplifting escape.

Mood
  • cozy
  • uplifting
  • bittersweet
  • comforting
Tone
  • earnest
  • hopeful
  • gentle
  • compassionate
  • warm
Pace
leisurely
Themes
healing from grief · found family · second chances · power of community · rediscovering joy
The writing
Accessible, straightforward, and conversational, focusing on emotional clarity rather than stylistic flourish.
The arc
Moves from a quiet, lingering emptiness through gentle steps of connection toward a deeply fulfilling and hopeful renewal.
Who it's for
Readers looking for a heartwarming, low-stakes story about women supporting each other through life's transitions.
Content notes
  • grief
  • death of a spouse
  • infertility

About the book

What Anne Marie Roche wants is to find happiness again. At thirty-eight, she's childless, a recent widow, alone. She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle's Blossom Street, but despite her accomplishments, there's a feeling of emptiness.

On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate...hope. They each begin a list of twenty wishes—things they always wanted to do but never did.

Anne Marie's list includes learning to knit, falling in love again, doing good for someone else. When she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It's a relationship that becomes far more involving—and far more important—than Anne Marie had ever imagined.

As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of twenty wishes, they both learn that wishes can come true...but not necessarily in the way you expect.

Description from Open Library.

Books like Twenty Wishes

See why they match