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 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 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…