This moving and powerful novel made it to train lines around the UK to spread the word of the importance of showing kindness to strangers. You never know who might be on the other end.

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This novel contains a very sensitive subject, and that’s the subject of suicide. However, what Andrew Mulligan really wanted to get across is this idea of kindness, the importance of kindness, and how it can get someone out of a certain way of thinking, sometimes.

About the book:

This book deals with suicide and the kindness of strangers. 
Michael is a broken man. He’s waiting for the 09.46 to Gloucester, so as to reach Crewe for 11.22: the platforms are long at Crewe, and he can walk easily into the path of a high-speed train to London. He’s planned it all: a net of tangerines (for when the refreshments trolley is cancelled), and a juice carton, full of neat whisky. To make identification swift, he has taped his last credit card to the inside of his shoe.

What Michael hasn’t factored in is a twelve-minute delay, which risks him missing his connection, and making new ones. He longs to silence the voices in his own head: ex-girlfriends, colleagues, and the memories from his schooldays, decades old. They all torment him. What Michael needs is somebody to listen.

A last, lonely journey becomes a lesson in the power of human connection, proving that no matter how bad things seem, it’s never too late to get back on track.

Journeys intersect. People find hope when and where they least expect it. A missed connection needn’t be a disaster: it could just save your life.

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Didn’t find a book?

Don’t worry! Train Man is on sale in all good bookshops, and if they’re out of stock, did you know you can simply ask them to order one in? Often your book will arrive the next day, which means another great excuse to get to your local bookshop. If you don’t have a bookshop nearby, you can grab a copy of Train Man on the Hive Books website – a place where independent bookshops are supported even through online shopping.

Would you like to be a book fairy?

Anyone can be a book fairy! Whichever types of books you like, you might end up with some you are happy to give away. Many people give these to charity shops or pass on to friends, but if you want a new way to pass on your books, then grab some official book fairy stickers and start hiding them where you live!