Bonnie has lost her third husband, Junior, and carries his urn with her wherever she goes. She springs a surprise trip to Peru on daughter Sandy and granddaughter Heather, planning for them to meet up with a young hiking buddy for a trek to Machu Picchu.
She thinks he may give Sandy a spring back in her step since she is depressed about finally ending things with her womanising husband. Meanwhile Heather needs a break from her work-from-home job and recently dumped boyfriend.
The best parts of this multigenerational tale occurred when Heather hooked up with her ‘Romeo’ after arriving in South America (and you knew what was eventually going to unfold) and when the narrative jumped back to the times Bonnie met her partners. Lots of family secrets and resentments are revealed along the way but any action and sense of place of the hike itself seemed rather bland.
After the death of her beloved sister Bree, Jodie is tasked with completing the last items on her bucket list. If she does, an airline company will pay off the medical debts that have been crippling her family.
But Jodie works at a car rental agency and shies from attention, lacking the adventurous spirit her sister shared with her Instagram followers.
With a marketing assistant shadowing her every move, Jodie takes the plunge with the first task of planting a tree with blossoms, even though the final item – falling in love – seems near impossible.
This was a bittersweet story, which gets you choked up over her sister’s illness, and then gets you cheering on an anxious Jodie as she is challenged to step outside her comfort zone. The country which routinely leaves its citizens in such diabolical debt over medical issues is the true villain of the piece.
