Life, Death and Vanilla Slices

by Jenny Eclair

Jean Collins is in a coma. She stepped out into the middle of the road without looking and was run over by a motorbike. But what had distracted her? And why was she carrying a box of vanilla slices - the cream cakes she only ever bought for special celebrations? For Jean's daughter Anne, these questions are the least of her concern. Travelling back up north to visit her mother, Anne frets about leaving her two sons behind in London - boys who are rapidly becoming men, and not very pleasant ones at that. And there are secrets waiting for Anne, back in the house where she grew up. Secrets she doesn't want to think about - that she buried a long time ago...Award-winning comedian Jenny Eclair is celebrated for her unflinching black humour and brilliantly sharp observations. In her extraordinary new novel she has also created a compelling and heartbreaking family drama that feels as rich and honest as real life.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Contemporary, Family, Humor

343 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Jenny Eclair is an English comedian, author and actor. She has appeared on numerous tv shows, most notably Grumpy Old Women, and Loose Women, performed on stage and hosted her own radio shows. She continues to tour her one woman stand up shows throughout the UK and was the first female comic to win The Edinburgh Fringe Perrier Award, in 1995.
She has written three novels, as well as contributed to many comedic anthologies.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grading on a curve, this is a great book. I picked it up because family problems have affected my concentration and I wanted a light read. This is not that. The writing is full of humor and heart but at the same time the book has a lot to say about family. The author doesn't hit you over the head with any of the truths she unveils nor does she ever speak down to the reader. The reveals of the various secrets are perfectly paced and the book picks up speed as it goes along. Alternating narrators works well and is well done. I usually read "heavier" things but I'm no snob and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried at the end. It's partly that the book shined a light on what's behind some of the problems in my own family, and partly because I came to care about the characters apart from any overlap with my life. Eclair is a very good writer and this is a very good book.

[Zarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of Life, Death and Vanilla Slices looks cutesy and fun, but don't go in expecting this to be a fluffy chick-lit read (like I did), because it's anything but that. Because of my wrong assumption of the novel when picking it up it took me a few chapters to get used to the gritty reality the characters were facing, but when I had familiarised myself with the tone of the story it did manage to pull me in and I was completely sold.

Middle-aged Anne hasn't seen her mother Jean in a very long time. Although they speak on the phone every Sunday they don't really know what's going on in each other's lives, in fact the two are almost strangers to one another. When Jean is run over by a motorbike and ends up in a coma, Anne is forced to leave her own family in Dulwich and make the trip to Blackpool, where she grew up, to visit her mother and face the ghosts from her past.

Initially this seems a very straightforward story of estranged family members that reunite but the reader quickly realises there are many things between mother and daughter that have never been spoken out loud and they've both been suffering the consequences as a result.

Written in dual narrative (and a third one thrown in every now and again when another perspective is needed) Anne's chapters primarily focus on the here and now, with flashbacks into the past when a place or situation triggers a memory, whereas her mother Jean works back from a faraway past into a more recent one as she, while still in a coma, "files away" the memories that got all jumbled up in the accident.

The novel is unbelievably intriguing as one family secret after another gets revealed and the reader can feel nothing but heartbreak for both Jean and Anne, despite the wrong choices the two have made themselves along the way. Some of the things they've done are certainly not inexcusable, but what they've been through does explain a lot of their irrational actions. Jean, and to an extend Anne, suffered tremendously and the two never really got the chance to form a proper mother and daughter bond as a result.

Even after all these years there are still many things left unsaid between Jean and Anne and while there perhaps is little chance for them to form a healthy and happy bond after all these years, as a reader I wanted nothing more than for Jean to explain to her daughter why she acted so coldly towards her as a child and for Anne to forgive her mother so they can savour what little time they may have left together.

Written incredibly engaging, Jenny Eclair's writing completely pulled me into Life, Death and Vanilla Slices until the stage where I was finishing reading the novel at 2am in the morning, on a work day, because I simply could not put it down.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt the ending left somewhat to be desired. In a few rushed sentences we finally learn what happened all those years ago but the reader never gets to witness how this news impacts the characters. Nor does it seem that anyone but Jean uncovers what she did in those final moments before she hit the pavement.

Perhaps it's the eternal optimist in me, craving a happily ever after (which this book has not) but I would've liked for Anne to have something positive to come out of it all. Especially because there is not much for her to look forward to upon her return in Dulwich; bratty and out of control teenaged sons and a husband who doesn't seem to love her. A little positivity in her life by ways of someone to visit in Blackpool would've been a welcome change, I'm sure.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐=Not quite 5 stars.
My book club read for this month.
Don't be fooled by the fluffy book cover, this is far from fluffy. It is deep, sad and thought provoking.
To be honest, this sums up many a family.
I really must read another of JE's fairly soon. Her humour and sharp, honest tongue comes through in her writing.

[Donnah Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, I could not put it down. Although it is a gentle read, you feel part of all the tenderness, sadness, loss and even moments of humour, the narrators have experienced. It's the life story of two women detailing all the happiness and pain they have embraced and endured. By the end you’re left with the feeling that they both realise ‘ if only I had done something different’? I didn't want the story to end.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t judge a book by its cover/title: while this looks like fluffy chook-lit, it’s actually quite a serious sad story about an elderly woman and her middle-aged daughter coming to terms with the secrets of the past. As fate would have it, I found it in a box of books that my mother bought before she died but clearly didn’t get around to reading, that I retrieved on a recent visit home to London , nearly four years after the funeral. This one stood out because we used to know the author, who worked for my parents when I was a teenager, before she became a famous comedienne. I got one of her non-fiction books through NetGalley a couple of years ago, but this is the first of her novels that I’ve read.

On paper, Anne Armitage has the ideal life - a long marriage to a successful surgeon, two healthy sons, a beautiful house in a nice part of London and a satisfying if undemanding career as a teacher in a private school - so why is she so unhappy? Well, her sons are @rseh0les, she has nothing in common with her husband, she’s unhappy with her body and keeping up with the neighbours is exhausting. When she receives word that her widowed mother Jean has been hospitalised after a hit & run, she races back to her hometown, and the difficult mother-daughter relationship she left behind. Meanwhile Jean, locked into her broken body, looks back on her life reflecting on what went wrong.

As mentioned, this is not a light read, but there is a lot of bleak humour, although not the laugh out loud kind. I was actually expecting it to be funnier, but instead this is a well written family drama about two mostly unlikeable women who become progressively more sympathetic as we learn what they’ve gone through. I could totally relate to little Anne - studious and shy, and a disappointment to her parent for being clever rather than pretty. Jean’s gradual realisation of her mistakes is heartbreaking.

I have a special shelf called “why cats are better than children” and this one definitely belongs there. Anne’s offspring are truly awful - but probably not atypical - and her bewilderment at what she could’ve done to make them that way is pitiful. This truly is a warning that the traditional “Happy Ever After” can turn out to be anything but! Overall I liked this in spite of the present tense narration, although I was slightly disappointed by the ending, as I would’ve liked more resolution of various plot threads - and a happier outcome although the one we get is more true to life. I’ll definitely be on the look out for more of Ms Eclair’s fiction.

[Melanie O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second Jenny Eclair book I’ve read and I absolutely loved everything about it. It’s humorous, sad, touching and with a storyline which is so good. Little twists and turns along the way with interesting believable characters which kept me invested in the book till the very last page. Highly recommended.

[Jo_Scho_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot emphasise enough how much I loved, loved, LOVED this book. It took me completely by surprise. Published in 2012 I only picked it up in the library last week as the cover caught my eye and the first two pages drew me in. And thank goodness it did because this is my 50th book of the year and I reckon it may be the main contender for the favourite.

It’s the story of Jean and Anne. One lies in a coma reflecting on her life and one sits by her bedside also remembering. At first it’s difficult to know what the link is between the two women but as it becomes apparent the story deepens and you realise that this isn’t just an easy read written by a comedian. No way, instead it’s an exceptionally well written novel filled with humour (I literally laughed out loud in so many places at Jenny Eclair’s skill for perfectly detailing tiny little nuances which occur in every day life and are all the funnier when you realise that it’s not just your own family who have these idiosyncrasies) but also juxtaposed with such exquisite pathos that my heart was breaking turning the pages. Jean was such a formal and rigid character which made the story all the more powerful and magnificent when something occurred which rocked her very foundations. It rocked mine just reading it.

What an incredible book. One that made me laugh and cry and just blew me away with its brilliance. I really didn’t want it to end.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the novel is written in the alternating voices of Jean, who lies in a coma after being hit by a car, and her daughter Anne, mother of two dreadful teenage sons. Jean mentally catapults through happenings over her lifetime, and the tone is both thought provoking and convincing, evocative of the bizarre sequences which tend to occur in dreams. Her memories are laced with joy, anguish, guilt and regret. Anne, as she sits by her mother’s bedside, speaks aloud things which she’s never dared to share. Deeply harbored resentments surface in the narratives, as well as love, a dawning understanding, and importantly, humor! The laugh out loud parts do provide relief in this subtly dark, yet compelling tale of family disharmony.

[Joanne Tinkler (Mamajomakes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t be fooled by the title and cover of this book. It ain’t a fluffy chick lit novel. I loved it.

I laughed, I cried, got angry and held my breath in places. It is a dark, funny and honest story about family secrets that are kept hidden for a good reason. The story flows really well and I was kept interested and entertained throughout. I loved the characters, they were so realistic and I could relate to most of them.

An all round, excellent story.

[Susan Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read, very cleverly telling the life stories of a mother and daughter and their often complicated relationships, both between themselves and other family members. My only gripe was I would have liked a prologue to see how Anne's life progressed in the future, especially in relation to her two wayward teenage sons.

[Agi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very intrigued by title of this book. In my opinion "Life, Death and Vanilla Slices" sounds totally intriguing, doesn't it? And the cover of this book is so inviting. So when the book arrived I have started reading it immediately.
I didn't know what to expect and the first few chapters were very confusing but when I got into the tempo and rhythm there was nothing stopping me. This book was gripping and I couldn't put it down. The writing style reminds me a lot about Sue Townsend's style, which I just love. It was cynically written, a reader must often be able to read between the lines but it's great, it's gripping, it's engaging and like I said, it have me hooked.
It is actually not a funny book, although it is written in a funny way. Under all this humour the author is writing about really dark and sad things. It's not the usual fluffy read for me, it's gritty and emotional story.
The book is written from Anne's point of view interchangeably with Jean's. For me both of them were gripping and interesting. The memories of Jean are especially interesting, it was great to see her past, see her secrets being revealed. Secrets that both of the women had, issues that has never seen the light and were never spoken out loud and as a consequence they were both suffering.
It was also great to read about Anne who is actually middle - aged, also a little older that my usual chick - lit characters.
There are some occasional chapter with other characters and they were refreshing. I have been longing to hear something from Jess, I was so, so curious about her. Although we don't get much from Jess personally - because there is a reason why - I was glad with this what I got.
This book is really intriguing as the tension is always growing. New secrets are coming and they let the reader to understand why the characters were behaving this way.
What is so great about this book as well is the fact that the plot itself is very believable, as we are dealing with rather dysfunctional family, with middle - aged woman struggling with her teenage sons and selfish husband, the characters are also like real people, people that we live next to and meet on the streets, and there are twists and turns but without the "oh, really, how could it have happened" moments.

I received a copy of this book from publisher in exchange for a review.

[Janiece · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars really, if they would ever make the rating system more nuanced around this place!

I loved this book. I bought it on the strength of seeing Jenny Eclair's comedic turns on television. But it's no laugh a minute comedy novel. Instead, it's a beautifully executed, poignant and compelling exploration of life, ageing and death, especially for women.

Alternately told through the eyes of a middle aged woman and her elderly mother lying in a coma. Anne feels middle-aged and frumpy, her huge breasts scraping the butter dish when she leans over the table. She feels ignored by her dull husband and ungrateful teenage boys, and estranged from her mother Jean, by whose side she now sits in hospital, up North.

Mysterious hints of stories long buried are introduced and woven skilfully ike threads throughout the book, only to come together at the end. Past and present perspectives build the picture gradually. Eclair examines what it is to be a parent, a spouse, a daughter, a sibling. The secrets that lie in families and fester over the years, the guilt, the resentment, the deceit, the confessions.

We discover the sufferings Jean endured but told nobody; a woman who was too embarrassed to even say the word "pregnant" wasn't able to confide in anybody at all about some of the things that happened to her over the years. We see too the circumstances that made Anne the woman she is now, and the life from which she escaped.

I think middle-aged women will relate to this more than anybody, but there is plenty here for anybody interested in family dynamics over the years. I read it in two all-day sittings, reluctant to put it down. Although it is sad and contains moments of heaviness and tragedy, there is much wit, insight and humanity throughout this book.

I was sorry when I finished it.

[Rainy Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot say that I like this book much. The first chapter had me already sleepy. Life, Death and Vanilla Slices was a book from the POV of Jean and Anne Collins, mother and daughter respectively. This is two major things of what I don't really fancy in this book:

1. How Jean picked favorites between her daughters. She obviously favor Jessica (her second daughter) the most throughout this book and inflicted pain on Anne (she bleached Anne's little hands with Dettol until her skins turned red and raw). How can a mother acted like this?

2. Anne's sons, Nathaniel and Julian were so disrespectful, ungrateful and disgusting. They swore a lot and called their mother unpleasant names.

The entire book is mostly about Jean and Anne reminiscing their past and childhood. I can say that theirs stories were neither rainbows nor unicorns. The stories were dark, stressful and rarely had happy moments. From the moment Anne was born, Jean wasn't that fond of her at all, but when she was hit by a motorcyclist and went into coma, it was Anne who turned up at her bedside. Jessica? Long gone a long time ago. I cannot say that I enjoyed this book much. Probably it's not for me at all.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

After loving Moving by Jenny Eclair, I was eager to read another book by the same author - and it did not disappoint! Telling the life stories of two different women, and exploring a mother-daughter relationship, this is a very character driven novel which dives right into the heart of family dynamics. At times it broke my heart! I love the way Eclair airs out the deepest darkest secrets of her characters in ways the reader can relate. A beautiful, haunting and brutally honest story, wonderfully narrated by the author herself.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It's well written, gripping, intuitive, the story was good and well laid out, and there were a nice amount of twists to it with no moments of "really?". On the cover a reviewer said "utterly compelling" and I would have to agree, I found it hard to put down. The characters are so very real, and written with a generous heart that shows we all have flaws and that's just the way it is, good and bad. I would like to have given this 4 1/2 stars - I would recommend this read, and will be seeking more from this author.

[Trudie Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Chicklit' with less glitter and more grit! Probably the most real characters I've come across which in parts makes them more recognisable (!) but also less likeable which comes as a bit of a shock. Once you realise this is actually okay the book is funny in places, but often sad. Only reason it wasn't five stars was because I guessed the twist/end!

[Lucy Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the fact that this is written by a comedian, the tone of this felt quite dark and sad. Jean, the woman lying in a coma throughout this, has thought some truly awful things about her oldest daughter Anne from her being born. And Anne's sons think some truly awful things about her which are just sad. Poor Anne.
I thought it was interesting to see how Anne and her sister Jess grew up so differently due to the way they were treated so differently as children.
Some truly unpleasant characters in this, but that's what made it so good.

[Christine Andrew]

The blurb on the back said it was a compelling book, and I did get drawn into it and wanted to read it until I finished it. I thought the characters were well drawn- on the surface, Anne had achieved such success, but how empty her life seemed to be. All the characters were struggling in their own ways. An interesting read.

[Emma Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one writes the joys and pains of womanhood like Jenny Eclair. She is an incredible writer.

[Suzanne Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a good book, loved it.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once I got into this it was really enjoyable. It was quite funny in places and really moving in others. I liked the way the chapters went between the characters. You can hear Jenny’s voice in the writing.

[Ashleigh Mulhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Jenny is a comedian & because of the amusing title & cover I had assumed that this was going to be a comedy. But it was far from it, dark, but gripping.

[Zaki Rehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this book and I just want to say that I am "satisfied" and "happy". This book wasn't a waste of time and money. It was awesome, deep, emotional, it was great!
This book talks about the deeper stuff. You see people, they are living, laughing, talking, everything. But you only know what they choose to show you. This woman, Anne has a common family, household and a common life. What goes on in her heart is what this book talks about. She is married and has two teenage sons. The sons are uncouth, indolent, impudent, insensitive, emotionless and just complete jerks. The writing style of this book is really versatile and suited to the topic. The author has the ability to create the aura of the incidents, before they are described. You can already feel sad before the tragedy happens. So it's not a robotic way of storytelling. It is full of emotion and can convey the feelings of characters efficiently. When the author talks about Anne, there is this general negativity in the atmosphere of the book, everything that Anne thinks is shadowed by pessimism and complains about the men of her family. The environment of this house is just unbearable and toxic. Nobody cares about anything and I would go insane, living there.
Anyway, the plot of this book follows Anne's mother getting into an accident and falling into a coma. Anne travels from her house all the way north to her mother (the novel is set in London). Her mother is in her seventies and Anne herself is 48 (just wanted to mention their ages). There she faces old memories, secrets that were buried almost thirty years ago. This family, Anne, her parents and her sister have a complicated and such sad story. We follow two perspectives. One is Anne and the other is her mother in coma, who is going through all of her life's memories in her head, to be free of their burden and she's packing the memories into the respective slots (it's a metaphor of course).
And we get lost in the flow of the rippling events and the cycle of time. Her mother, Jean starts the story in her head from her childhood and marriage and then moves on. The biggest mistake that she made in her life, that made her pay back so much, the very thing, this book is about is that she favored Jess over Anne.
While I was reading, I was so horrified by her treatment with Anne. Anne's very existence was a cause of embarrassment for Jean. HOWW?!! I was hating Jean all the way, for the way she treated Anne like a step daughter. Anne was studious, and good at academics, but she was oversized and large for her age and wore glasses. Jean herself was dyslexic, so couldn't read much and was always annoyed by Anne and her books. Just anything that was related to Anne was a source of annoyance for Jean. On the other hand Jean's husband, Jim was a great father, the only good thing that had happened to Anne in her childhood.
Jim was great husband but his wife never cared for him and was hardly grateful. She used to persuade him for everything she wanted to do.
Jean was a seamstress and knitted a lot. She had a second daughter, Jess, who was bad at academics and became a dancer. She was too beautiful, she was just "amazing". While Anne was strange and annoying.
This is it for the synopsis. Now I want to dive into why I loved this book. First of all, I generally am very fond of books that involve domestic lives and go into the depths of people's emotions and take time exploring the minds and building relationships. This book was exactly that type. This woman Anne is so negative about everything, thanks to the environment of her house. Once she was thinking like:

"_Once you have children, you can never really breathe easily again; from the moment they are born, there is always a sense that something terrible might happen. Parenthood is painful like indigestion_."

As the story of the past progressed, we got to see that Jean suffered too much later. She paid more than double. Horrible things happened and I started feeling sad, really sad for Jean because she slowly lost everything she had. Anne was way more lucky by comparison. Jean had favored Jess over Anne, and it was in the end, Anne who had a better life and Jess went missing for thirty years. At one point in the past, Jean thought:

"Gradually, her daughter was becoming a stranger and it dawned on Jean that she'd missed her chance for the two of them to ever be really close. Thing is, Jean reminds herself, you put all your eggs in one basket"

Jenny Eclair knows how to hook the reader. The secrets are unfolded in a very insinuating way, so that I had to stay awake late in the night to read ahead. And again the writing style was great, I teared up at many places. This one woman, Jean went through so much suffering her entire life and there was nobody in the end to support her. Anne seldom met her mother. And when she ended up in coma, Anne came and this is what she says to herself:

"I have been a dreadful daughter. I turned my back, I walked away. No, I didn't walk, I ran, I ran as far away as I could and it has been many years since my mother and I were able to look each other in the eye. I have shoved her to the back of my mind. I have dismissed her, I have tried to pretend that time is a great healer and that raking over the past is no help to anyone"

Anne also made mistakes, terrible mistakes. And she confesses them now to her mother. It was heart breaking. Because of a mistake of her mother, everything was devastated. Somewhere somehow all of them were wrong, but nothing could be reversed in the end.


SPOILERS:
I loved that little insertion of an old memory, when Helen walks into the room in hospital where Anne is sitting. And we got to know, that her marriage never worked out well. It was sad, very sad. Again because Jean hadn't spoken when she saw the bruises on Helen's body. She made many mistakes.
If she had fought Helen's father, that day, life would have been so much better, so much different. And I want to cry oceans, if it wasn't for that wedding, how much better everything would have been.
I understand Anne really well, though she did something horrible. But she was kind of justified in doing so. It was the mother who had created the jealousy, it was she who had failed to create love between the sisters. Both sister ended up hating each other. It was heart breaking to see Jess's career breaking down like this, she was ruining herself. She didn't listen to anybody. And oh I could feel Jean's pain. A son who she had to abandon nine years ago, a daughter that's indifferent and away at her university and doesn't even come to meet her, and another daughter who is losing herself, and who finally went missing. Jess was spoiled from the beginning. I think if Jean had been a little hard on her, maybe then she had turned out to be a good daughter. just maybe..



Anyway, i loved this book and am so so grateful i liked it, because i was having bad feelings halfway through, that i will be disappointed but I wasn't!

[Lauren Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I got this book I was expecting a fun, light read with lots of LOL moments. I was wrong. There was some LOL moments but behind the humour there was a dark, heart-wrenching story of a dysfunctional family.

It is about Anne and her mother Jean. Each chapter is from one of their POVs. I found this really worked because while Jean was in the coma, you were going through her old memories that she was thinking about while in the coma. Anne has two teenage sons and has to leave them behind while she stays in her mother's house and visits her at the hospital each day. You really get inside the heads of both these characters.

Through Jean's chapters you learn what it was like for her to be a young mother and the struggles she went through. You also found out what Anne was like when she was younger. Anne was also remembering her childhood memories with her mother and sister, Jess. In the present day, Anne never mentions a sister Jess, nor does her sons so the mystery of where Jess is now is constantly with you throughout the book.

I found myself feeling sorry for Jean at times and other times, for Anne. Though, there is a lot of humour in it too which I thought was great.

The only thing I would criticize about this book is that occasionally in Anne's chapters it would switch back her son's POV quickly and switch back. I found this annoying and unnecessary since at the end of the book there is a chapter or two from the POV of her son's. I also didn't like how everything was all resolved by the end (I'm not saying it was a happy ending), everything that was a little bit of a mystery to you throughout became very obvious and known at the end. I like some loose ends, though I know most people don't.

If you're looking for some family drama with a bit of humour, this for you!

[jennifer laughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really surprised how good a read this 99p book was. I kept wanting to pick it up to hear Jean and Anne’s life stories. There was humour and sadness. I would definitely read another one of her books.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne is a good daughter, who married a nice doctor, and has two teenage sons. She's clearly not enamoured with either of her sons, and a bit bored with her sensible husband, but then, she was clearly trying to escape her former life in Blackpool. Meanwhile, her mother Jean is in a coma, having been run over by a motorbike. As the story progresses, we hear both sides of the same story - the secrets and lies which were told to protect one another, and themselves. We wonder what happened to all the other people in their lives, while thinking that as they consider what happened, maybe things didn't turn out so badly in the end, all things considered...

And yes, this book really did remind me of Mike Leigh's film, Secrets and Lies.

[Florence Penrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in more or less one gulp over 2 days, which isn't easy, as it's fairly hefty. I bought it having seen the author promoting it at Way With Words at Dartington and found it both amusing and moving - a hard act to pull off. I could have done with it being longer - I wanted to know how things pan out for the daughter. My only reservation is that, being a middle-aged woman, I am the target audience for the book. I've just passed it on to my daughter and will be interested to see what she thinks of it.

[Katie Rushworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolouty amazing, I enjoyed it so much I just couldn't put it down.

It’s about 2 women, one of which is in a coma, and their story and past is revealed in wonderful snippets and memories. I’ve literally laughed out loud, but also wanted a good cry. It is written so well and in a compleatly different way to other books I've read.

This is one of the best books I've read and will leave me thinking about it for a long time.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

So smart, written from the perspective of two women. A mother and daughter both reflecting on their lives. The Mother has been involved in an accident and her story is told from within a coma. The daughters story is so poignant as she struggles with middle age and her children having reached school leaving ages.

[Sarfeastcaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - to the point where I was really sorry when it came to an end.
If I'd just seen the cover I wouldn't have even bothered picking it up, but I saw it in the Kindle store so wasn't influenced by the cover, thankfully.