A memoir of when an ordinary day can flip on you, trip up your life and hurtle you down a pathway no-one could predict. Abi is a writer, for film and TV, her husband Jacob an actor with a passion for cake. He has MS which appears to be under control. She has a normal life; work, husband, kids, school run, dog.
Jacob has a headache; she picks up the steroids after the school run and returns to find him on the bathroom floor. What follows is a turmoil of emotion, self-doubt, anger and self-deprecating bravery. Anyone who has visited a loved one night after night in hospital or care home, learning about the other patients, their Families and working out a timetable so you can eat, work and (try to) sleep will recognise the balancing act.
The deluge of information, the subsequent coma that Jacob is placed in and then the complications and edge of death moments are brilliantly described in a matter of fact, direct delivery. When things get better there are complications (of course there are) and more shocks, challenges and shifts for Family life to cope with.
A tremendous capture of Family life, trauma, stoicism, strength and endurance; of how life continues through all this and worse. Abi’s anger, despair and frustration is refreshing, honest and genuine. She counts her blessings when she can, plants her feet in the storm and watches as her children, Jacobs Family cope, adjust, support and accept. There is no pity here just an honest memoir captured by a great writer; a gem and a gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment