I Can Hear The Cuckoo

Grieving Kiran Sidhu made a very brave and life transforming decision when she lost her beloved mother.

So deep was Kiran’s sorrow, that she felt she had to escape the normality of her life in London, to give herself some breathing space to reflect.

Her change could not have been more dramatic, from the diversity of the big city to rural Wales and finding herself, the only Indian in the village.

Fearing of being shunned, Kiran withdrew into herself, but slowly as she grew stronger, she became to discover her new home was the best place to be.

Now Kiran, known as the writer behind the BAFTA award-winning film, Heart Valley, has penned a wonderful book in tribute to her new life.

I Can Hear The Cuckoo is gentle, thought provoking and simply a wonderful read. Kiran thought she would never leave London, but the loss of her mum was so heart-breaking, that she decided fresh air and silence were the way forward.

At first the barrenness and isolation was strange, but as the months went on, Kiran connected with the close-knit community and makes friends with neighbour Sarah who shows her the joys of tobogganing, 70 year-old Jane, who lives at the top of a mountain with three dogs and four alpacas and Wilf, a farmer who eats the same supper every day and teaches Kiran that the cuckoo arrives in April and leaves in July.

The book is thought provoking, Kiran explores the huge difference in the two ways of life she has enjoyed, from people who look like each other sticking together in the city, to people in the countryside having to get on with those who they are stuck with.

It’s a great lesson for us all, not to judge a book by its cover and Kiran is given the chance to embrace a whole new world, which doesn’t care what your job is or how rich you are, instead people talk and enjoy their newfound friend.

Kiran has come to love the rawness of her new countryside life and seems to have found a new inner peace after so much heart loss.

Published: 25^th April 2024
UK Price: £10.99
ISBN: 978-85675-499-6
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320 pages

I Can Hear The Cuckoo – Life in the wilds of Wales
By Kiran Sidhu
Published by Octopus Books

I Can Hear The Cuckoo is available to buy at Coles Books, Waterstones, WH Smith, Hachette UK and Amazon.

Author Bio:

Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.

Book cover image courtesy of Octopus Books and top photo by Kiran Sidhu