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Second Time Around
After a freak accident and eight weeks in a coma, Suzie Connors’ family are elated when their adored mother finally wakes up absolutely fine. Except she’s not.
Blissfully unaware of her children’s shock at having to deal with the changes in their mum, Suzie has had a wake-up call and intends to live life to the full, with or without their approval. Then her youngest daughter, Sharon, is faced with some major issues of her own and the one person she would have turned to – her mother – is no longer there for her.
An emotional story about family, second chances and what happens when, in the blink of an eye, life changes forever …
Blissfully unaware of her children’s shock at having to deal with the changes in their mum, Suzie has had a wake-up call and intends to live life to the full, with or without their approval. Then her youngest daughter, Sharon, is faced with some major issues of her own and the one person she would have turned to – her mother – is no longer there for her.
An emotional story about family, second chances and what happens when, in the blink of an eye, life changes forever …
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2016
15 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Colette Caddle
32 books88 followersBorn, bred and still living in Dublin's fair city...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 19, 2017
An OK read but not as good as others I've read by the same author.
December 29, 2024
Easy, delightful light read.
Susie wakes from a coma, struggling to remember things from the past. Her adult children rally around, supporting her and helping her adjust to a normal life. Her sister, Mandy is at her side, guiding and advising - but all is not what it seems!! All the characters have flaws & challenges, as everyone does.
I found this book an easy read, interesting characters, hilarious at times. It's all about family & good friends!
Susie wakes from a coma, struggling to remember things from the past. Her adult children rally around, supporting her and helping her adjust to a normal life. Her sister, Mandy is at her side, guiding and advising - but all is not what it seems!! All the characters have flaws & challenges, as everyone does.
I found this book an easy read, interesting characters, hilarious at times. It's all about family & good friends!
April 13, 2022
A good book. Good descriptions of the (mainly) likeable characters. Suzy loses her memory in an accident and has been in a coma for 2 months at the start of the book. Gradually memories come back to her. She is a widow with 2 daughters and a son. The story features daughter Jess, her job and relationships quite a bit.
May 9, 2018
A mostly entertaining read although I wasn't keen on the writing style in places. Too explanatory perhaps or sounding a little condescending? Can't put my finger on it however at times I found it distracting.
October 3, 2019
Like the tree of life
This book had everything, intrigue, family life and a Percy. The story was fast paced covering decades and how, basically you can choose your friends but not your family. Fantastic writing with regards to asd , not an easy subject but handled very well. 🐕 📃
This book had everything, intrigue, family life and a Percy. The story was fast paced covering decades and how, basically you can choose your friends but not your family. Fantastic writing with regards to asd , not an easy subject but handled very well. 🐕 📃
September 24, 2019
Another great page turner by Colette Caddle
June 17, 2024
3.5 stars
August 25, 2016
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book.
It's quite a well-known fact that head injury can result in personality changes, and this affects not only the injured person but also those closest to them. The effect of the change in Suzie's behaviour causes shock and upset to her family and friends in different ways.
Colette describes the horror and torment suffered by a family when a loved one is in hospital very well. That feeling of being in limbo, of not knowing if your loved one will die, or to what extent they will be affected. It is exhausting, both physically and mentally. Then when Suzie does wake up, the torment isn't over by any means as they all have to learn to adjust to the 'new' Suzie.
The story is told from multiple points of view, which shows how each person is affected by Suzie's injury to great effect.
Suzie has lost her ability to filter her thoughts and what comes out of her mouth, often to quite humorous effect. She is struggling with her memory - who should she trust to tell her the truth about her past?
Jess feels she has to carry the responsibility of looking after her mother; but she has problems of her own when her love life and work life collide.
Jess's sister, Sharon, has it tough - her husband cannot connect with their son, Bobby, and now Suzie, who always adored her grandson, makes her thoughts on Sharon's mollycoddling perfectly clear. So clear that Bobby thinks his granny doesn't like him - a heartbreaking thing for any child. But deep down Sharon knows there's more to Bobby's behaviour than naughtiness - she just needs to admit it. Caddle's writing deals with this with a great deal of empathy.
Suzie's son, Noel, has the struggle of uni exams to cope with as well as his mother's erratic behaviour. He can't even confide in his best friend Cal, who is bewildered by Noel's distance.
Cal is my favourite character - he brings a lot of sense to everyone around him, not least Jess and Bobby.
As for the worst character - it has to be a toss-up between Suzie's sister Mandy, a conniving, jealous woman - no one else can believe it when she claims to be a loving sister, helping Suzie; and Jess's lover/boss Louis, who just makes my skin crawl!
Second Time Around is a heart-warming read about second chances, family and friendship. I loved it.
It's quite a well-known fact that head injury can result in personality changes, and this affects not only the injured person but also those closest to them. The effect of the change in Suzie's behaviour causes shock and upset to her family and friends in different ways.
Colette describes the horror and torment suffered by a family when a loved one is in hospital very well. That feeling of being in limbo, of not knowing if your loved one will die, or to what extent they will be affected. It is exhausting, both physically and mentally. Then when Suzie does wake up, the torment isn't over by any means as they all have to learn to adjust to the 'new' Suzie.
The story is told from multiple points of view, which shows how each person is affected by Suzie's injury to great effect.
Suzie has lost her ability to filter her thoughts and what comes out of her mouth, often to quite humorous effect. She is struggling with her memory - who should she trust to tell her the truth about her past?
Jess feels she has to carry the responsibility of looking after her mother; but she has problems of her own when her love life and work life collide.
Jess's sister, Sharon, has it tough - her husband cannot connect with their son, Bobby, and now Suzie, who always adored her grandson, makes her thoughts on Sharon's mollycoddling perfectly clear. So clear that Bobby thinks his granny doesn't like him - a heartbreaking thing for any child. But deep down Sharon knows there's more to Bobby's behaviour than naughtiness - she just needs to admit it. Caddle's writing deals with this with a great deal of empathy.
Suzie's son, Noel, has the struggle of uni exams to cope with as well as his mother's erratic behaviour. He can't even confide in his best friend Cal, who is bewildered by Noel's distance.
Cal is my favourite character - he brings a lot of sense to everyone around him, not least Jess and Bobby.
As for the worst character - it has to be a toss-up between Suzie's sister Mandy, a conniving, jealous woman - no one else can believe it when she claims to be a loving sister, helping Suzie; and Jess's lover/boss Louis, who just makes my skin crawl!
Second Time Around is a heart-warming read about second chances, family and friendship. I loved it.
December 14, 2016
This is my first novel by Colette Caddle and I just adored the storyline and characters in this book.
Set in Southern Ireland Second Time Around is about how a tragic accident, which leaves Suzie with a brain injury, affects not only her but also has consequences for the whole of her family and friends. When Suzie finally rouses from a coma, much to the relief of her family, she is left with bouts of frustration and impatience due to her memory loss which her daughters especially find it hard to come to terms with. Her young Grandson Bobby who she particularly used to have a great relationship with sees her behavioural changes and this concerns the rest of the family. Grateful that their mother is alive doesn’t stop the anguish of whether she will return to her former self and stop with her sometimes cruel words of insensitivity and thoughtlessness.
When Suzie’s memories gradually begin returning she realises just how lucky she is to have such a supportive and enriched family. With the help of her Grandson and her newly acquired dog Percy Suzie rekindles her life and becomes a much stronger woman.
Having also been through a loved one suffering from a brain injury I can relate to the family’s worries and distress. It is an awful traumatic time as no one has clear answers as the brain is so complicated each person suffers differently. Fortunately my family had a good outcome but I am well aware that for many it is often not the case.
Set in Southern Ireland Second Time Around is about how a tragic accident, which leaves Suzie with a brain injury, affects not only her but also has consequences for the whole of her family and friends. When Suzie finally rouses from a coma, much to the relief of her family, she is left with bouts of frustration and impatience due to her memory loss which her daughters especially find it hard to come to terms with. Her young Grandson Bobby who she particularly used to have a great relationship with sees her behavioural changes and this concerns the rest of the family. Grateful that their mother is alive doesn’t stop the anguish of whether she will return to her former self and stop with her sometimes cruel words of insensitivity and thoughtlessness.
When Suzie’s memories gradually begin returning she realises just how lucky she is to have such a supportive and enriched family. With the help of her Grandson and her newly acquired dog Percy Suzie rekindles her life and becomes a much stronger woman.
Having also been through a loved one suffering from a brain injury I can relate to the family’s worries and distress. It is an awful traumatic time as no one has clear answers as the brain is so complicated each person suffers differently. Fortunately my family had a good outcome but I am well aware that for many it is often not the case.
October 30, 2016
Suzie Connors awakes from a coma after an accident. Her daughters Jess and Sharon, and son Noel, find their mother to be quite a different person, with gaps in her memory. Gradually she starts to fill in those gaps, as well as learning things about her family that she didn't always like.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews