A story of second chances, unexpected friendships and finding your way home.
What if the life you’ve spent decades building is no longer the life you want to live?

Gary has spent years doing everything expected of him. A career, responsibilities, familiar routines and the relentless pace of London life. From the outside, everything seems perfectly ordinary. But beneath the surface, something is missing. The excitement has faded, the days have become predictable, and the person he once imagined becoming feels increasingly distant.

Then comes a decision that changes everything.

Leaving Camden behind, Gary heads to Castillonnès, a small village in the French countryside, hoping to find the peace, purpose and happiness that have gradually slipped away.

But starting again isn’t as simple as changing your address.

In a place where life moves to a different rhythm, Gary encounters unfamiliar customs, colourful characters, unexpected friendships and moments that challenge everything he thought he knew about himself. Along the way, laughter sits alongside loneliness, hope battles uncertainty, and the possibility of love begins to emerge when he least expects it.
As the village slowly becomes more than somewhere to escape to, Gary discovers that belonging isn’t necessarily about where you come from. It’s about the people who welcome you, the connections you make and finding the courage to open your heart again.

From Camden to Castillonnès is a warm, emotional and uplifting story about leaving the familiar behind, confronting life’s disappointments and embracing the possibility of something better.

For anyone who has ever felt stuck, dreamed of escaping the daily grind or wondered if it’s too late to begin again, this is a story that will resonate long after the final page.

Because sometimes, the greatest adventure isn’t finding somewhere new to live.
It’s finding yourself again.

Gary Roddy is a London-based writer with a career in advertising, research and insight.

His fiction draws on his love of France, people and the humour found in everyday life.

From Camden to Castillonnès is his first novel.

Gary has three daughters, a granddaughter, and a lifelong passion for rugby, film and travel.