How I Learned to Stop Saluting Magpies- Blog Tour

 

Author: Lynn Farley-Rose

Publisher:  Esmeralda Publishing

Publishing Date: 15th July 2025 

Many thanks to the publishing team and ZooLoos BT for my digital copy and a spot on the tour

Blurb 

Lynn grew up believing that saluting magpies could keep bad luck at bay. But after a string of disasters-illness, financial ruin, divorce-she's forced to admit: the magpie magic isn't working. At rock bottom, she turns to a lifeline-a list of treats and adventures she'd always meant to try but never quite got round to. As she slowly ticks them off, what begins as a quest for distraction becomes something deeper. 

A train rattles across America. Flamingos flap. Secrets surface. There's clifftop terror. And step by step, old fears, inherited wounds, and superstitions begin to loosen their grip-creating space for forgiveness, of herself and of others. How I Learned to Stop Saluting Magpies is a funny, thoughtful memoir about letting go, moving on, and inching-slightly suspiciously-toward joy.

My Thoughts

This was such an interesting and refreshing book to read. The cover is stunning and immediately draws you in.

The book follows Lynn, who, after a series of painful life events, comes to realise that her long-held superstitions no longer provide the comfort or control she once sought. In their place, she embarks on a journey of emotional relearning—developing new coping strategies, reassessing old habits, and ultimately confronting her fears.

Her “list” of adventures and discoveries becomes one of the memoir’s most engaging elements. It ranges from small, easily achievable challenges to larger, thoughtfully planned undertakings, each pushing her further outside her comfort zone. Watching Lynn face these challenges head-on highlights the liberating power of embracing discomfort and moving through fear.

The narrative delivers a full spectrum of emotion—humor, joy, heartbreak, honesty, and sadness—making Lynn’s story relatable and human. As a first foray into memoirs, this book reshaped my perception of the genre and left me eager to explore more titles like it.