Michelle Upton’s Emergency Exit Only (Harper Collins 2023) is the perfect summer beach read: light-hearted, full of warmth and wit, and imaginative, it is the stuff dreams are made of (literally). A local Brisbane author, part of Upton’s charm is that she writes about places and locations all Queensland readers will recognise.
Amelia Harris has played it safe her whole life, with her employment, her relationships and her family. Her boring office job of 10 years, her arms’ length emotional detachment from commitment, her caring but distant communication with her mother; all have paved the path she’s walked in her 20’s and early 30’s. But when she is literally and figuratively knocked off that path by ending up in hospital after a minor scooter accident, she decides that she will have a go at all those dream jobs she’s fantasised about but never had the courage to try. Zookeeper, florist, wedding planner, journalist, messing about with boats – Amelia arranges, through her contacts, to shadow people in these professions for a couple of weeks each, to try these very different jobs on for size. The roles and the people she meets are exciting, demanding, ambitious, boring, difficult; but nothing feels quite right.
Into this mix the author throws a romance (wrong person/wrong time/wrong place = complicated) and a secret revealed by Amelia’s mother, Toni, about her long-dead father (more complications), with the result that Amelia becomes mired in a whirlpool of emotions and obligations in all areas of her life. Her work/life balance has become more complex rather than less. She loves parts of each job, but not all of every job. She begins to feel she is not only disappointing the people who’ve allowed her into their professional circles, but letting herself down by still not coming any closer to a decision about her future.
Who of us hasn’t dreamt of a happier, more satisfying life? A better, more challenging job? A tender and stable relationship? A more comfortable connection to our personal histories? Friends and lovers and family who are somehow ‘more’ than what we have?
This whimsical, warm, funny and adventurous story about a woman following her heart and her dreams takes the reader to unexpected places and encourages us to ask ourselves what we really want, what we are prepared to sacrifice, and where our loyalties lie. For everyone who has ever stretched out on a beach towel contemplating how life might be different, this heart-warming story is for you.