It’s well over a decade since I last listened to an audio book, so I was delighted to rectify that when I was given the opportunity to listen to an early release of Lift Me Up by one of my favourite authors, Milly Johnson.
Milly has featured on Linda’s Book Bag many, many times and you’ll find those occasions here.
Milly will also be appearing at my local Deepings Literary Festival with afternoon tea on 2nd May and you can get your ticket here.
Lift Me Up is released on 1st May 2026 and is available for purchase here.
Lift Me Up
A heartwarming story from Sunday Times bestseller Milly Johnson. Tam Remington had her life planned out. Until a conversation in a broken lift—with her worst enemy—changes everything.
For a decade, Tam has quietly held YorkMart together whilst others took the credit, making herself smaller in the process. When she’s briefly promoted to acting Managing Director, she finally has a chance to shine—until her promotion is snatched away and handed to Jack Cesaroni—the man brought in to do the job that should have been hers.
Tam expects nothing but disappointment from Jack. But when they’re trapped in a lift between floors thirteen and fourteen, he sees what no one else has: Tam is exceptional. That single word of recognition sparks something Tam thought she’d lost—and an unexpected connection she never saw coming.
Now Tam faces an impossible choice: stay being the smaller version of herself she’s become used to, or take a leap and reclaim the vibrant, authentic woman she once was—and discover how wonderful it could be if she lets someone see the real her…
My Review of Lift Me Up
Tam is stuck in a lift!
What an absolute gem of a book. I loved Lift Me Up.
This may be a short story but my word Milly Johnson packs it with all her trade mark elements, from humour to emotion, friendship and family, and strength and vulnerability. I was especially pleased to find a whole-hearted support for romantic fiction at the start.
Tam is a brilliant creation because not only do we discover her present corporate life and her impending marriage to Harris, we also find out about her past and the potential for her future, making her fully rounded, realistic and, frequently, highly relatable. Which one of us has never lost sight of part of themselves in order to accommodate others? I found myself urging her on throughout. I absolutely adored the way both literal and metaphorical colour is used to illustrate her life and personality.
As you’d expect with a Milly Johnson story, there are laugh aloud moments of humour and some of her similes and descriptions are utterly spot on so that there’s a visual quality to the prose. However, there’s much more to Lift Me Up than fun. I thought the tension between Tam and her family illustrated perfectly how we can choose our friends but… and there’s a sharply observed realism that not all relationships will miraculously morph into a happy ever after ending. In Lift Me Up, Tam and Jack may need literal lifting from a stuck lift but they and Anna show how being supportive to others as well as true to yourself is such a positive lift.
The depiction of corporate life in YorkMart is filled with reality. But what is so impactful is the way Lift Me Up illustrates how kindness and consideration of others in ALL walks of life leads to greater success and happiness for almost everyone – except perhaps for the likes of Harris. I thought his name was inspired as (forgive me the people of Harris) it made me think of the kind of stuffed shirts who feel anything but the status quo is wrong. I actually felt quite sorry for him in his bland, insipid world, at the same time as wanting to shake him hard. I felt his attitude towards Tam was more unthinking and a product of his upbringing than deliberate which had real impact. We can be thoughtless and controlling without realising. In contrast, Jack illustrates how really listening to others, sometimes taking hard or unpopular decisions and being empathetic not only make people happier but enable business to thrive too. However, this is no saccharine blanket approach. Not everyone will subscribe to that way of living and Tam has to learn that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can never satisfy others. And this is the biggest lesson of all.
I thought Lift Me Up was wonderful. It’s filled to the brim with humour, tension, relationships and reality. It made me smile in an increasingly morally dark world and it brought me joy. One word to describe Milly Johnson’s warm understanding of what makes us human? Read or listen to Lift Me Up – you’ll know what I mean when you find it! Don’t miss this heartwarming, uplifting and thoroughly entertaining read.
About Milly Johnson
Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is the author of 23 bestselling novels as well as various ebook novellas and a book of poetry. She was an erstwhile leading copywriter for the greetings card industry. She is also a performance poet, professional joke-writer, columnist and after dinner speaker.
She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire. She has, this year, to add to her many accolades for literature and services to the county been given the Yorkshire Woman of the Year award from the Yorkshire Businesswoman organisation.
Her new Amazon First Reads novella ‘Lift Me Up’ will be on general release from 1 May.
You can follow Milly on X @millyjohnson and Facebook, or you can visit her website for more information. You’ll also find Milly on Instagram and on Bluesky.
English (US) · 