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We Are Each Other
'This raw and fearless exploration of life, loss and mostly love - it is totally unforgettable.' Elle's Most Hyped Books of 2026
'A beautifully expressed testament to the strength and depth of the maternal bond' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller
'Stunning, lyrical and deeply felt.' Clover Stroud
We Are Each Other tells Jess' story of becoming a mother while losing her own to a sudden terminal diagnosis. It's about loss, yes, but at its core it's about how we love when we are living on the threshold of life and death with someone central to our being and place in the world.
Jess' mother was the beloved Tessa Jowell MP. She lived a public life, but this is not the story of a public person - it's the story of a mother and daughter, walking both sides of life and death together.
The writing began as a way to metabolise her own experience, it tells the story of the way they loved, the way Jess grieved, and the way she renewed in that life-defining year. But the long and enduring journey of completing it over several years sharpened and galvanised its ultimate purpose to be about so much more than Jess and Tessa. It is ultimately for anyone who has loved and lost someone at the centre of their world and identity. That is its to give language and greater articulation to this most universal human experience.
'A beautifully expressed testament to the strength and depth of the maternal bond' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller
'Stunning, lyrical and deeply felt.' Clover Stroud
We Are Each Other tells Jess' story of becoming a mother while losing her own to a sudden terminal diagnosis. It's about loss, yes, but at its core it's about how we love when we are living on the threshold of life and death with someone central to our being and place in the world.
Jess' mother was the beloved Tessa Jowell MP. She lived a public life, but this is not the story of a public person - it's the story of a mother and daughter, walking both sides of life and death together.
The writing began as a way to metabolise her own experience, it tells the story of the way they loved, the way Jess grieved, and the way she renewed in that life-defining year. But the long and enduring journey of completing it over several years sharpened and galvanised its ultimate purpose to be about so much more than Jess and Tessa. It is ultimately for anyone who has loved and lost someone at the centre of their world and identity. That is its to give language and greater articulation to this most universal human experience.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 5, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Leap/Bonnier Books for inviting me to read and review a GIFTED proof copy of We Are Each Other by Jess Mills, which comes out on 5th March 2026.
We Are Each Other is Jess' story - a memoir, if you will - about becoming a mother for the first time, whilst losing her own mum to a devastating terminal cancer diagnosis.
Jess' mother was Dame Tessa Jowell, a Labour politician and later a life peer, who, at various points, was Minister for Women and Equalities; Culture Secretary; and Olympics Minister for the 2012 London Olympic Games, inspiring great respect across all parties.
She lived a public life of service, devoted to helping people and making their lives improved, better.
But Jess' book is not the story of her mum's public personna, it's the story of a mother and daughter, 'walking both sides of life and death together'. A very personal, and profoundly human story.
It's raw, honest, unflinching, and deeply, deeply relatable, as it describes the very essence of the human condition, the circle of life: love and loss, life and death.
Her writing is sublimely beautiful, poetic and lyrical, which adds even more power and resonance to the strong emotional pull and echoes within the book's pages.
We all experience profound loss and grief in life, none of us gets out unscathed, and this is the kind of writing which might offer strength and solace to anyone who has lost someone who is the centre of their world, helping them to articulate that loss, or at least better mentally frame their thoughts and emotions.
Whilst it is very much, a book about loss, grief and grieving, at its heart is the vital message that love is forever, it isn't erased by death, and it's what ultimately helps us heal after loss. This book also offers the important reminder to us that whilst we're lucky enough to draw air, we should strive to live life to its fullest.
I found this an incredibly powerful and relatable read, made all the more so because of Jess' honesty, and I was so incredibly moved by it. It feels such a privilege to read Jess' words and share her journey, even as those words touch the deepest wells of hurt and sorrow in your own soul, and tears cloud your eyes.
I don't think anyone could read this beautiful book and remain unchanged. Highly recommended.
We Are Each Other is Jess' story - a memoir, if you will - about becoming a mother for the first time, whilst losing her own mum to a devastating terminal cancer diagnosis.
Jess' mother was Dame Tessa Jowell, a Labour politician and later a life peer, who, at various points, was Minister for Women and Equalities; Culture Secretary; and Olympics Minister for the 2012 London Olympic Games, inspiring great respect across all parties.
She lived a public life of service, devoted to helping people and making their lives improved, better.
But Jess' book is not the story of her mum's public personna, it's the story of a mother and daughter, 'walking both sides of life and death together'. A very personal, and profoundly human story.
It's raw, honest, unflinching, and deeply, deeply relatable, as it describes the very essence of the human condition, the circle of life: love and loss, life and death.
Her writing is sublimely beautiful, poetic and lyrical, which adds even more power and resonance to the strong emotional pull and echoes within the book's pages.
We all experience profound loss and grief in life, none of us gets out unscathed, and this is the kind of writing which might offer strength and solace to anyone who has lost someone who is the centre of their world, helping them to articulate that loss, or at least better mentally frame their thoughts and emotions.
Whilst it is very much, a book about loss, grief and grieving, at its heart is the vital message that love is forever, it isn't erased by death, and it's what ultimately helps us heal after loss. This book also offers the important reminder to us that whilst we're lucky enough to draw air, we should strive to live life to its fullest.
I found this an incredibly powerful and relatable read, made all the more so because of Jess' honesty, and I was so incredibly moved by it. It feels such a privilege to read Jess' words and share her journey, even as those words touch the deepest wells of hurt and sorrow in your own soul, and tears cloud your eyes.
I don't think anyone could read this beautiful book and remain unchanged. Highly recommended.
March 5, 2026
Review of proof kindly sent by the publisher.
“In the end, what gives a life meaning is not only how it is lived, but how it draws to a close.” Tessa Jowell
Jess is the daughter - present tense is so important- of Tessa Jowell, a much beloved politician who received a terminal cancer diagnosis shortly after Jess gave birth to her daughter. This is a deeply intimate and personal account of those last months with her Mother, of her own mothering. It is about love and life at the cliff edge between life and death. Jess writes so beautifully, so honestly. She invites you into her life, so that by page 3 you are crying alongside her. Tessa was a very public figure, but in this book we see her through the eyes of someone who deeply loved her, who tenderly describes her hair, her eyes, who wraps herself around her Mum, cocooned in her bed as though she can keep her there forever. She says of her Mum, ‘she is my deepest, most unchanging home.’
In the publishers note Jess writes, ‘This book tells the story of the way we loved, the way I grieved..it is for anyone who has loved and lost someone at the centre of their world and identity. I hope that is the purpose: to give language and greater articulation to this most universal human experience.”
My Mum died of cancer this month 25 years ago. In that time I don’t think that I have read a book which so resonated with my own experience and articulated anticipatory grief so profoundly and so eloquently. Like Jess, my early mothering was tightly bound up with my Mum’s cancer. She was diagnosed when my twins were 2 years old. I left my husband in London for 9 months to support my Mum through her first bout of chemo. Like Jess’ daughter, my children carried us forward; as they blossomed into little people, my Mum’s life ebbed away. Like Jess I sometimes felt ripped apart, torn between being a Mum and a daughter. I can’t thank Jess enough for being so generous in her sharing. Reading this has helped better than any therapist. On this World Book Day this is every reason why books are priceless.
“In the end, what gives a life meaning is not only how it is lived, but how it draws to a close.” Tessa Jowell
Jess is the daughter - present tense is so important- of Tessa Jowell, a much beloved politician who received a terminal cancer diagnosis shortly after Jess gave birth to her daughter. This is a deeply intimate and personal account of those last months with her Mother, of her own mothering. It is about love and life at the cliff edge between life and death. Jess writes so beautifully, so honestly. She invites you into her life, so that by page 3 you are crying alongside her. Tessa was a very public figure, but in this book we see her through the eyes of someone who deeply loved her, who tenderly describes her hair, her eyes, who wraps herself around her Mum, cocooned in her bed as though she can keep her there forever. She says of her Mum, ‘she is my deepest, most unchanging home.’
In the publishers note Jess writes, ‘This book tells the story of the way we loved, the way I grieved..it is for anyone who has loved and lost someone at the centre of their world and identity. I hope that is the purpose: to give language and greater articulation to this most universal human experience.”
My Mum died of cancer this month 25 years ago. In that time I don’t think that I have read a book which so resonated with my own experience and articulated anticipatory grief so profoundly and so eloquently. Like Jess, my early mothering was tightly bound up with my Mum’s cancer. She was diagnosed when my twins were 2 years old. I left my husband in London for 9 months to support my Mum through her first bout of chemo. Like Jess’ daughter, my children carried us forward; as they blossomed into little people, my Mum’s life ebbed away. Like Jess I sometimes felt ripped apart, torn between being a Mum and a daughter. I can’t thank Jess enough for being so generous in her sharing. Reading this has helped better than any therapist. On this World Book Day this is every reason why books are priceless.
January 20, 2026
I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book within a couple of hours as I simply couldn’t put it down and it really resonated with me, and I’ve read a number of books on grief and bereavement since my Dad died about 18 months ago. I felt that this memoir was really authentic, refreshingly open and honest, and extremely emotional (I sobbed for the last 1/4!) I also felt the book was written in the most beautiful way, it was almost poetic at times.
This memoir is by the eldest child of the Labour MP, Tessa Jowell, Jess Mills. I read it because I always liked and respected Tessa Jowell and found it very sad when she died a few years ago, and I thought this might be an interesting read. The book begins with Jess giving birth to her and her husband’s first child, a daughter, and them getting used to parenthood and we learn very early on what a big, loving family they are and Tessa adores her first grandchild and her daughter hugely. Not long after, Tessa has a couple of medical episodes and soon receives a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. It is a very relatable read and we learn a lot about what Tessa and her family went through, Tessa’s treatment and then her death, and the aftermath and how the family coped. It is extremely sad reading and as I say, I sobbed a lot reading it and a lot of the experiences and feelings were very close to home and relatable. I also appreciate how Jess questions why as a society we’re still so bad at dealing with death, grief and bereavement; something I’ve constantly asked too.
I would really recommend this book as a very helpful resource particularly for anyone grieving or looking to understand grief and death more.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book within a couple of hours as I simply couldn’t put it down and it really resonated with me, and I’ve read a number of books on grief and bereavement since my Dad died about 18 months ago. I felt that this memoir was really authentic, refreshingly open and honest, and extremely emotional (I sobbed for the last 1/4!) I also felt the book was written in the most beautiful way, it was almost poetic at times.
This memoir is by the eldest child of the Labour MP, Tessa Jowell, Jess Mills. I read it because I always liked and respected Tessa Jowell and found it very sad when she died a few years ago, and I thought this might be an interesting read. The book begins with Jess giving birth to her and her husband’s first child, a daughter, and them getting used to parenthood and we learn very early on what a big, loving family they are and Tessa adores her first grandchild and her daughter hugely. Not long after, Tessa has a couple of medical episodes and soon receives a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. It is a very relatable read and we learn a lot about what Tessa and her family went through, Tessa’s treatment and then her death, and the aftermath and how the family coped. It is extremely sad reading and as I say, I sobbed a lot reading it and a lot of the experiences and feelings were very close to home and relatable. I also appreciate how Jess questions why as a society we’re still so bad at dealing with death, grief and bereavement; something I’ve constantly asked too.
I would really recommend this book as a very helpful resource particularly for anyone grieving or looking to understand grief and death more.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2026
A poignant and unbelievably moving memoir about losing a mother while becoming one yourself.
The love that Jess has for her mother pours into every word, every sentence, every page. It was truly beautiful to hear the emotion in Jess’ voice as she read this out.
The sudden terminal diagnosis of her mother, politician Tessa Jowell, upends Jess’s life. Her exploration of grief is so visceral, so raw. Grief is not unique and the loss of a parent is something that so many go through. And yet, each loss, each experience of grief is unique. This is not only about her mother’s death, but also an ode to her life. Her life in the public eye guided by her fierce morals, but also her private life. Her life as an individual, a friend, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. This book is a testament to a life well-lived and fierce love well-earned.
I was so moved by this memoir; I cried, I laughed, I learnt. It will stay with me for a long time, and each time I am sucked down by grief, I’ll think of Jess and her mother. Of how life stops in the wake of such a loss and how we learn to go on. This goes beyond a ‘book’ - Jess cracks open her heart onto the page and it was a true joy to read.
The love that Jess has for her mother pours into every word, every sentence, every page. It was truly beautiful to hear the emotion in Jess’ voice as she read this out.
The sudden terminal diagnosis of her mother, politician Tessa Jowell, upends Jess’s life. Her exploration of grief is so visceral, so raw. Grief is not unique and the loss of a parent is something that so many go through. And yet, each loss, each experience of grief is unique. This is not only about her mother’s death, but also an ode to her life. Her life in the public eye guided by her fierce morals, but also her private life. Her life as an individual, a friend, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. This book is a testament to a life well-lived and fierce love well-earned.
I was so moved by this memoir; I cried, I laughed, I learnt. It will stay with me for a long time, and each time I am sucked down by grief, I’ll think of Jess and her mother. Of how life stops in the wake of such a loss and how we learn to go on. This goes beyond a ‘book’ - Jess cracks open her heart onto the page and it was a true joy to read.
February 18, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Profoundly human.
This isn’t just a memoir about the grief of loosing a mother. It’s about the invisible threads that binds us to the people who shape us. It’s about how love doesn’t end with death. It’s about becoming yourself while carrying someone else with you.
Such a beautiful, heartfelt story of the love between a daughter & her mother and how that love goes beyond death.
Highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone, especially those who are looking to understand death or grieving on a deeper level.
Thank you to Bonnier Books UK & Leap Books for this ARC via Net Galley in return for my honest review.
This isn’t just a memoir about the grief of loosing a mother. It’s about the invisible threads that binds us to the people who shape us. It’s about how love doesn’t end with death. It’s about becoming yourself while carrying someone else with you.
Such a beautiful, heartfelt story of the love between a daughter & her mother and how that love goes beyond death.
Highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone, especially those who are looking to understand death or grieving on a deeper level.
Thank you to Bonnier Books UK & Leap Books for this ARC via Net Galley in return for my honest review.
March 23, 2026
I’m not really sure how many stars to give the book, is this a good book if you cry on every page?
I feel this book was a harrowing diary of a woman grieving for her mum, it was deep and personal and absolutely heartbreaking!
I think it needed to be kept unpublished as it’s so personal to her and her family! It even felt intrusive to read at times!
Close, gut wrenching and painful to read.
It was a fantastic testimony to her mum, to her last breath she was fighting for the rights and her beliefs
I feel this book was a harrowing diary of a woman grieving for her mum, it was deep and personal and absolutely heartbreaking!
I think it needed to be kept unpublished as it’s so personal to her and her family! It even felt intrusive to read at times!
Close, gut wrenching and painful to read.
It was a fantastic testimony to her mum, to her last breath she was fighting for the rights and her beliefs
April 9, 2026
I read a review of this and thought it sounded interesting, and it was. The author boldly and generously shares personal details of the end of her mother’s life, her death and the aftermath that followed. It’s shockingly frank at times and really conveys how visceral losing a loved one is, honest about the inner struggle but ultimately positive in the will to go on, to live for others, to find the connectedness between us all and do to good. I did find that it wasn’t very well written though, lots of repeated words which is a pet hate of mine.
April 18, 2026
We are Each Other by Jess Mills
Is an honest, relatable book.
It's a heartbreaking story of the love, life and death of Jess's mum MP Tess Jowell.
While reading the book I remembered I had seen Tess's heartbreaking speech in the Houses of Parliament.
I wish there had been a book like this when I lost my mum and nan. It would have been immensely helpful
I can highly recommend this heartbreaking but beautiful book
Is an honest, relatable book.
It's a heartbreaking story of the love, life and death of Jess's mum MP Tess Jowell.
While reading the book I remembered I had seen Tess's heartbreaking speech in the Houses of Parliament.
I wish there had been a book like this when I lost my mum and nan. It would have been immensely helpful
I can highly recommend this heartbreaking but beautiful book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2026
Absolutely stunning.
December 24, 2025
I had huge respect for Tessa Jowell and that’s what drew me to this memoir by her daughter Jess Mills. Jess acknowledges how her mother was a much loved MP and campaigner but in We Are Each Other she focuses on Tessa’s role as a mother and grandmother. Shortly after Jess gives birth to her daughter Ottie in 2017, her adored mother collapses and is diagnosed with brain cancer. The memoir reflects on the last year of Tessa’s life, and what comes through overwhelmingly is the love she had for her family and how much she was adored by them. It’s an honest and open memoir that lays bare Jess’ feelings during this time. It’s a short book and I was completely immersed in it over the course of 24 hours. It’s beautifully written and i felt such sadness throughout but also happiness at the strength of the love between Jess and her mum. A beautifully written and moving memoir that I would recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
April 1, 2026
Heartbreaking, visceral and goosebump inducing.
"There is no angle of normality which grief can't make into an object of sorrow."
"There is no angle of normality which grief can't make into an object of sorrow."
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews