The Accidental Tour Guide

by Mary Moody

The Year of Magical Thinking meets Salvation Creek in a powerful memoir of love, loss and discovery – the third act in an extraordinary life.

Mary Moody’s bestselling memoirs about her adventures in France, Au Revoir and Last Tango in Toulouse, inspired thousands of women. The Accidental Tour Guide completes the circle by sharing another major turning point in her life.

When Mary loses her beloved husband, her world is turned upside down. Part of her journey to reignite her passion for living is to boldly go where she has never been before – in her travels and in her everyday life.

A powerful, moving and inspiring true story about how to rebuild your life without the people who matter most.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Travel, Biography

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2019

Reviews

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Accidental Tour Guide by Mary Moody

This is a very open and honest tale of Mary Moody’s life

Mary Moody was a presenter for ABC’s Gardening Australia for a decade. She lived on a rural farm near Bathurst and also owned a small house in France.

The book centres around growing older and focuses on some highly emotional issues such as dealing with the traumatic death of her beloved husband and his battle with cancer and also finding and then losing her long lost sister.

Mary’s life has been less than ordinary, she’s widely adventurous, and a passionate gardener. She talks about her work leading cultural and botanical treks to India, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Morocco and France, which I found fascinating.

Mary is an excellent writer, it was an interesting read but also a distressing and emotional one at times.


With thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Renee Hermansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very honest and candid story about Mary Moody's life. She has had an amazing life and shares the positives of her work, family and travels, as well as her journey through the time of her husband,David's, cancer and loss of life.
During this time in her life she also finds her long lost sister and in turn also loses her.
I honestly laughed out loud at some of the lines in this book as some parts were quite funny. I also nearly had to get the tissues out at times as the emotions are real.
I haven't read any of her previous work but now wish to read more of her stories.
It was a very addictive and easy read and I finished it in a couple of days.
I wish to thank Mary Moody for this interesting insight into her life. I also wish to thank Simon & Schuster for this advanced reading copy.
I highly recommend this book.

[Anna Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like I was right beside Mary being told what it was like to watch a partner die of cancer. It was so well done. I don’t usually read memoirs, but I was so impressed by this. I laughed and I cried.

[Kali Napier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Moody was a Gardening Australia presenter for a decade, partnered with the love of her life for four decades. She had a large holding, beautiful home in rural NSW, a cottage in the south of France, and ran trekking tours to the high places of the world. She lived the Good Life. A life most enviable, yet grief and loss strikes us all. This is a sentimental journey through Moody's husband's cancer treatment, his death, and facing life after; as well as a highlights reel of their life together. I cried often.

[Annette Chidzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of Mary Moody’s previous publications and revelled in her love of France especially as I have travelled to the area in SW France where the house she purchased is located. The village of Frayssinet-le-Gelat was typically picturesque as we passed through it on our way to our holiday house in Recey-sur-Ouce.

This account refers to the time she spent there but in a more reflective manner and with the wisdom and the hindsight that comes with age and experience given that her husband died in 2014. She looks back on her life experiences and puts them into perspective, including the period spent in an extra-marital relationship in France, seeing and understanding the reasons for her actions and behaviour more sanguinely with the passing of time.

Moody’s writing is lively, engaging and easy to read as she takes you on a rollicking journey through the ups and downs of her life up to 2019. Though some experiences have been recounted in previous books, they are still comforting in their familiarity while her encounters with death are quite raw yet uplifting.

She speaks of ageing and how it impacts on her attitudes moving forward as a late sixties aged woman. There is much to enjoy with this latest Moody publication and to contemplate personally once the final page has been read.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Mary Moody, she comes across as the sort of person you could have a really enjoyable open chat with over a cup of tea. I'd also enjoy wandering around a garden with her chatting about the plants or one of her guided tours in an exotic plant filled destination would be a happy adventure.
So Mary has faced and dealt with those most difficult events that we all must go through at some time, the deaths of close family members. Mary is never morbid nor over sentimental her approach is pragmatic, open and compassionate. She spares her readers from feeling sad or overwhelmed by what she's going through. Her writing has a light touch. Seems like that's the way she's lived her life and it sounds like a pretty terrific way to do it.
I pretty much read this book in two or three sitting but with quite a bit of space in-between. The death of a much loved Uncle who lived interstate and who was suffering from cancer happened and I couldn't settle back into the book for a while after the funeral and spent some time catching up with other family members.

This book is a great read. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me an uncorrected proof to read and review.

[Joanne Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Mary Moody’s previous books and this one I have also liked and found easy to read. She writes very honestly about her husbands diagnoses of a terminal illness and subsequent death, but with joyful times with family and friends.
This story resonated with me on several levels..
I gave it 4 1/2 stars

[steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it feels like spending time with my Mum. There was so much in it that reminded me of our family home at Ourimbah where my Mum would always be catering for the countless family members stopping in or staying over. Those are such wonderful memories for me.

[Felicity Waterford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Mary Moodys writing, honest, Australian, mostly relationship focussed, strong and very way to read. I was really touched in some parts and at times felt my grief as I connected to her descriptions.

[BirnitaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfamiliar with Mary Moody before reading this book, I now want to go to Morocco with her! I laughed, I cried, I thoroughly enjoyed this rollicking read and can’t recommend it highly enough. 4 1/2 stars.

[Marianne Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Mary Moodys writing of her relationship with her husband and his sickness and death. Some of her experiences reminded me of my own experiences and led me to writing down my own memories.

[Jane Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at a long term marriage and life post her husbands death. Well written and compelling .

[Sharon J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Mary Moody’s books Last Tango I Toulouse, Au Renoir: running Away from Home at Fifty, and The Long Hot Summer: A French Heat Wave and a Marriage Meltdown I was eager to read her newest book. I was not disappointed! This however is probably more emotional and intense as it about dealing with loved ones, her husband and newly found half-sister, who are ill before dying. How Mary copes with this is amazing and her writing reflects her strength and the emotions she feels during this period and afterwards. Loved her self-reflection and perseverance in moving forward in her life.
What an amazing family she has and with them as well as friends she turns her life around to face new horizons including being a touring guide in out of the way places in Morocco.
At times I had to stop reading as it was becoming a little overwhelming - so emotional and also sorrowful. However I would highly recommend this as a wonderful story to read.


Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Simon & Schuster (Australia) for an ebook copy to read and review.

[Adel · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can feel Mary’s personality come through in her writing. Such a genuine, kind, funny and smart lady. What a fulfilling and interesting life so far! I’d love to take a tour with Mary some time - with her travel experience and knowledge, wit and humour, it would surely be a most fascinating adventure.

[Jessie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is nothing insightful, novel or interesting about this story. I suspect it wouldn't have been published, except for the fact it is written by a celebrity gardener. It doesn't feature travel (or adventures) and is a continuous log of Mary's going ons in her rural Australian home. If you're a fan of Mary Moody you might enjoy this, otherwise give it a miss

[Rhoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me an uncorrected proof of this book.

Mary Moody was a presenter on Gardening Australia for many years and has written a couple of other books - mainly about her time spent living in France.

This book is a very honest and candid account of Mary’s beloved husband being diagnosed with cancer, his subsequent passing and how she dealt with it. It was a quite emotional read as Mary really shared all she went through in the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found much of what she wrote quite thought provoking - particularly the natural inclination to believe that there will always be an answer medically.....and how devastating it is to have to eventually admit that sometimes there just is not.

I was also very moved by her account of life immediately following her beloved David’s passing when all her family gradually had to leave to go back to their own homes and lives and just how very alone she felt.....and how much paperwork and red tape there is to navigate.

Mary’s adventurous nature returns eventually and she resumes her botanical group hikes in India, Morocco and Mongolia. It was a great account of life and death....and how to really make the most of life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first pages of Mary Moody's memoir, ‘The Accidental Tour Guide- Adventures in Life and Death’ are raw and real, with her vulnerable journey though hopelessness in loss continued throughout her book. 

Mary Moody, is a talented journalist who started her career with the Women’s Weekly in the 1960s.

Following a tree change with her family a decade later, Mary became an avid organic gardener and was a valued member of ther Gardening Australia team for a decade.

Happily married with a beautiful large extended family and an enriching career, Mary’s life comes crashing down by the shock diagnosis of her husband David’s cancer and his sudden death.

Mary speaks openly and candidly about the devastation, grief, unresolved pain and the toll that losing her beloved husband takes. Also delving into a soul healing reunion with her estranged sister and later supporting her sister through Alzheimer’s disease.

Mary's memoir is a beautiful tragic wrestling with the death of her most beloved, the grief that is all consuming and the process of learning to live and dream again.

[Chris Avalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a writer! So heartfelt and genuine. Mary writes from the heart and is so open about her feelings and life. She is a very brave woman to put her feeling out there for everyone to read. She certainly makes me want to travel to the far reaches of the land as well as get out into the garden. Although I'm not in the same situation, I can imagine that her recount of her feelings during her husbands treatment then death will be of comfort to many people experiencing the same thing. I have read all the preceding books of her life and found that this book tied everything up so well. I wish her and her family a wonderful life and Mary many more fabulous adventures.

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much emotion in this book. A beautiful narrative that describes the life of Mary Moody from when she was a child, through her first relationship, working as a journalist, getting the gig on Gardening Australia, then the unexpected move into the world of the tour guide.

In addition, there is the relationship with her husband, David and the life they created together living up in the Blue Mountains and then for years on the farm at Yetholme until his tragic passing from cancer.

Mary writes with such joy and love, but she is also vulnerable showing the grief that filled her life when times were extremely hard, especially with losing David.

It's a reflection on life, death, adventure and taking risks. Highly recommended.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the previous memoirs by Mary Moody. The Accidental Tour Guide, is easy to read like her earlier books, but this one feels so heart felt and honest. There is much grief and sadness as she writes about the death of her husband as well as her long lost sister.

Reading though the book there are many passages that make you stop and think. Moody reflects on what empathy means: understanding and insight. Perhaps we can only truly empathise when the same situation has befallen us (page 286). Mary Moody shares many of her experiences when she lost her partner of over 40 years.

[Lisa Bacon-hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most of her books, especially her time in France. This one is sad but also inspiring, dealing with death, growing old and letting go. I’m almost the same age as Mary so could relate to her struggles dealing with grief, not that I have lost my husband!
I get why she loves to travel, don’t get gardening but good on her for being passionate about a garden and growing all sorts of things.
A good solid read.

[Jennifer Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reflection on loss of a partner by Mary Moody, a well known garden personality, covers all the material from her previous books in a slightly different format. I like her breezy manner and miss her from the male heavy presenter team of Gardening Australia. It has a First world quality; she has had an amazing life having grown up in a tempestuous family so you want to wish her well. She is so upbeat it's a bit wearying but endearing.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

From its lovely cover to the very last page, this is a warm and life affirming book. Mary Moody has a fascinating life, with travels, family, gardening and friendships. It is sad reading of her husband’s battle with cancer, but her musings on the lessons of her life are enriching. I enjoyed this peek into someone else’s world.

[Serena Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved all of Mary Moody’s books and this one is no exception. She is an amazing woman who has lived and interesting and a little unconventional life. This latest chapter in her life is a very honest and moving account of the last years of her husband David’s life. Great read.

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book after listening to Mary at an event in Maleny. She has so much empathy for others, and many women shed tears during her talk. But she also is very funny and caused much laughter.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cant really warm to this author although I did enjoy this book more than her other two, especially the one concerning her affair. A quick read. Covers the time leading up to and immediately following her husband's death.

[Janettef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a biography reader, but this threw me in from the first page and then I was hooked. The writing style made me feel like I was there having a cup of tea and listening to the story of Mary's life - it was a very interesting life and the characters are made very real and likeable.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful recap and further instalment of the Mary Moody story.

Delivered in the author's forthright manner provides insight into events of later years plus her work, passions and family life.

[Amy Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little bit to get fully invested in this book but I now consider myself as a fan of memoirs - very keen to read others from Mary. I found her life tales so interesting and beautiful, I was crying, laughing and smiling along the journey. Made me feel quite sentimental. Just beautiful.

[Susan Snooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I knew about Mary when I borrowed this from my library. I enjoyed hearing about her husband and their love story. I liked her idea of always trying new things and learning everyday.