"A rallying cry for sisterhood. Dive in, my Queens."
“This is a safe space for brave women to tell their stories.” So reads the dedication at the start of Middle Rage, and Molly Kendrick delivers exactly that. You’ll find within the pages a bold, defiant, and deeply compassionate exploration of what it means to be a woman at every decade.
Middle Rage brings together a cast of unforgettable women - each at a crossroads, each rediscovering her power.
In Part One, we meet Maggie, 73, packing for a retreat on the wilds of Bodmin Moor. It’s not a spa getaway but a rebellion: a call to arms for women who’ve had enough of playing small. Maggie’s grief is still raw. She’s lost her husband of 45 years, Bill, and her baby daughter decades before - and she’s done caring what anyone thinks. With her paintbrushes in tow, she’s ready to reawaken something that’s lain dormant for far too long.
Then there’s Emma, 53, who once vowed to celebrate every birthday with champagne and grace - only to find herself, years later, simmering with frustration, snapping at her husband, and feeling trapped in a life that’s shrunk around her. Hormones, motherhood, marriage, grief - everything has collided. On her therapist’s advice, she too signs up for the retreat, dragging along a mountain of emotional baggage.
And Clover, just 22, the retreat leader and an “awakened woman awakening women,” brings her own blend of mysticism and drama. Her retreat becomes a crucible for transformation - a place where generations of women collide, connect, come undone and start to heal.
As the story unfolds through shifting timelines and perspectives, Kendrick weaves in the stories of Fleur, Meredith, Maggie and Emma, each confronting their own challenges. Meredith’s storyline in particular is emblematic of the novel’s core: the fight for freedom, identity, and self-worth.
Kendrick writes with wit, rage, tenderness and truth. Middle Rage captures that stormy, sacred space where women stop apologising and start taking up space.
| Primary Genre | Humorous Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
Three women who have lost themselves and one who wants to be lost spend a life-changing weekend at a wild retreat on Bodmin Moor.
Talking about feelings is Emma's idea of hell. Annoyingly, she's bottling up a lot of them. According to her husband, she's been in a bad mood for the last five years.
But Emma needs to open up to help her struggling daughter. The family therapist suggests a wellness retreat, so she's picked the maddest one she could find.
Which is how she has found herself on Bodmin Moor with two strangers and a retreat leader called Clover urging her to get in touch with her 'dark feminine divine'.
But Clover doesn't know just how much Emma is hurting, and the more she pushes, the more Emma resists. Can she finally accept the anger she feels, and what will happen when she finally lets it all out?
Relatable, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, Middle Rage is a rallying cry for women everywhere.
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Middle Rage features in the following genres: Humorous Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: Interior life
Middle Rage is available in Paperback
Middle Rage was written by Mollie Kendrick and published by HQ an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Middle Rage has 384 pages
£8.99
