2023 Christy Award Winner--Best First Novel
”[A] touching debut. . . . MacKillop takes the pain of aging and regret and infuses it with soul and a touch of humor. This auspicious first outing tugs at the heartstrings.”—Publishers Weekly

Eva wants to run away from her life--if only she could remember how
Failing memory has forced Eva Gordon to move in with her granddaughter, Breezy. But Eva hates the bustle of Boston. All she wants to do is move back to her quiet, cozy Cape Cod home and be left alone.
Then Breezy announces she's getting married, and they'll be moving to her new husband's rundown family farm, where he lives with an elderly uncle. They'll be one big family--but only Breezy and Brent think it'll be a happy one.
It's all too much for Eva. Too much change, too much togetherness, too much of an over-crowded life she never wanted. But as her desire for privacy collides with her worsening memory, Eva may find herself in a pickle she can't get out of.
"A big-hearted family saga, suffused with grace and kindness, featuring a cast of appealing characters who would be right at home in Jon Hassler's Staggerford or Richard Russo's Empire Falls."—Adrianne Harun, author of A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain
"On par with Olive Kitteridge! But where Olive woos, Eva Gordon captures. . . .A poignant, utterly beautiful story of perspective and hope."—Cheryl Grey Bostrom, author of Sugar Birds
"A novel full of life and transformation, as charming as a New England cottage by the sea. You can't help but fall in love with spunky, hard-edged Eva Gordon and the others connected to Try Again Farm."—Christine Kindberg, author of The Means That Make Us Strangers

Reviews (178)