Barclay first visited the tiny Greek island of Tilos with friends, including a lover with promising prospects. In her mid-thirties when those prospects fell apart, she never forgot the appeal of the island with its breathtaking views and population of 500, far outnumbered by goats. Emotionally adrift, she makes herself three pledges, gifts to herself: cut back on work, take a six-month hiatus from relationships to reconnect with herself, and spend a month in Tilos. She immerses herself in the Greek culture, food, language, and dance she so loves. Emotionally healed and recharged, she returns to England, where she meets a man who wants what she wants, a future with children and maybe a life on that tiny Greek island. But all of her careful precautions against heartbreak and preparation for her life-changing move don't preclude the disaster she faces. Barclay's beautiful memoir recalls both Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love (2006) and the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, providing glimpses into the lives of people in a small Greek village and the process of healing from a broken heart.