The Little Boat on Trusting Lane by Australian author Mel Hall is a cosy, feel-good sort of spiritual journey novel.
Richard, a spiritual healer and guru lives on a battered houseboat in a scrapyard on Trusting Lane, Fremantle, Western Australia. The boat serves as an alternative healing centre for the IEWA (Invisible Exit Wounds Anonymous) circle. Richard runs the centre with the help of his disciple-assistants, Finn and August.
When Celestiaa Davinaa, a rival healer arrives in town, he feels overwhelmed, he has bills mounting up for repairs on the boat and letters from the council. He is in a quandary and doesn’t know how to get himself out of it, let alone care for his own wellbeing.
Meanwhile, his assistants have problems of their own. Finn is indecisive about everything she is stuck and questions her purpose in life and her ability to perform healthy extractions on those that come to the centre. When the storms of life enter her world, she feels as though she would be comfortable to just be and not make changes.
August has troubles with her boyfriend, Tom who is away most of the time, she is conflicted about past memories of her life and feels guilty straying from her church for love. They are great side characters with different personalities and quirks.
Celestiaa, who Richard found on a spiritual dating site is ready to shake the town. She is refreshed and full of life and gives herself generously to the town folk. Cleansing their mind, body and spirits with her healings. I loved her character, she was positive and happy who genuinely expressed joy, I found myself wanting to be part of her tribe to soak up her positive energy, passion, and enthusiasm for life.
Richard is a likeable character; from a religious background to becoming a spiritual healer and guru I found him to be open-minded which made him more approachable. You feel his despair and helplessness while trying to remain strong for others. He is the type of person you could sit with and listen to his life story, seeing the world through his eyes.
The author writes her characters beautifully, she creates balance in the narrative by portraying the challenges of life with the fortitude to overcome their fears and hopes for the future, and not shying away from difficult issues and becoming who you are destined to be with a little help along the way from alternative healing.
Making up a religion to cope with chronic pain led Mel Hall to write The Little Boat on Trusting Lane. She was able to place her pain in a big creaking boat and found a new life in the daily act of writing. This book shares hope and victory over extreme difficulties and unusual lifestyles. The most impressive takeaway from this novel is the eventual freedom Mel achieved with her pain.
I highly recommend The Little Boat on Trusting Lane to those who struggle with turmoil, pain and discomfort in their life or for those who want a feel-good story.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read and review.
Author: Mel Hall
ISBN: 9781925816617
Copy courtesy of Fremantle Press
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading The Little Boat on Trusting Lane by Mel Hall. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to read this lovely book about love, meditation and spirituality. It was a wonderful read, I really enjoyed it.
The Little Boat on Trusting Lane by Mel Hall caught me by surprise at how refreshing this novel was after a slow start for me. Richard runs his healing centre from the little boat and from the start it appears quite unique. Bring in helpers Finn and August and you wonder where this story will take you.
Another element of character is Celestiaa who is about to rock the boat in Richard’s life and the healing circle already established.
A delightful and sensual story written to remind us of community spirit and the benefits of meditation.
I actually found The Little Boat on Trusting Lane by Mel Hall quite difficult to read. I thought it was very slow, especially at the beginning and although being about meditation and spirituality which I am really interested in, I just found that I wasn’t able to make any connections with the characters. It took me quite a while to read this book because I just wasn’t inspired to pick it up. I would like to read it again at some point, maybe it will be good summer holiday reading when I don’t have any other pressing commitments and can devote the time to it. Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me review this – I will definitely give it another go >:o)
I found this book very slow at the start making me wonder if it was worth going on with. It really wasn’t the type of story that grabbed me but could be good for those who like that type of thing. I may try again in the future.
The Little Boat on Trusting Lane is a cute little book based on alternative healing, wholesome eating and spiritualism with a touch of humour thrown in for good measure.
In an old houseboat, Richard runs an alternative healing centre and regular meetings of the Circle of IEWA. He seems to be caught up in his past a lot. We also meet Finn, who seems a little lost, and August, who left her church to follow her boyfriend Tom. And then there’s another alternative healer, Celestiaa Davinaa.
Exploring different ways of living, this is certainly not a novel I would normally read, but I was keen to keep reading to see the characters’ point of views on matters. I liked how they each provided differing opinions, yet never seemed to judge others and accepted each other for who they are.
Congratulations to Mel Hall for writing a unique novel with very interesting characters. Thank you Beauty and Lace and Fremantle Press for the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you for the opprrotunity to read this book.
It was quite slow for me to get into, so has taken me a while to finish it. I will try to read again at a later date, without stopping & starting