A life without you
#ALifeWithoutYou #blog #tour #review @AriaFiction @ShariLow
The Synopsis:
Touching, funny, and bittersweet, this is a story that will make you laugh, cry, and call your best friend to tell her you love her.
Dee and Jen have been best friends since their days of teenage crushes, bad 90's make-up and huge hair. They’ve passed every milestone of their lives together and now in their thirties own a successful boutique, sharing a bond that is as strong as the closest of sisters.
Until one day everything changes. Dee is gone, killed by a reckless driver, leaving Jen to face the harsh reality of a world without her. Jen vows to honour Dee’s dreams and take care of everything and everyone she loved. Until she realises that sometimes the only way forward is to let go of the past.
My Thoughts:
I have been an avid reader and follower of Shari Lows since i first read; The Story Of Our Lives, followed by The Other Wives Club a few months ago. Shari is an author i discovered through Netgalley, and am i pleased i did!
As it was then and still is now, it's the beautifully designed covers that first attracted me. Lovely, simple, clean designs with such vibrant colours, you can't help but smile and feel yourself lift, just by looking at them. They hold a promise of what lies within, and i guarantee you won't be disappointed.
We have Jen and Dee, business partners and life long friends with the roots of it in childhood. What helps is the fact that their significant others also share a strong bond so the foursome are practically joined at the hip(s).
So what happens when one is taken away?
Everything is fine, life couldn't be better. Until the unthinkable happens. Jen watches as Dee loses her life whilst trying to save anothers. Hit by a motorist, high on drugs, she dies in the arms of her best friend Jen. Dee's passing leaves a gap in all of their lives, in an instant, a friend, a best friend, a wife and a daughter is gone.
Each of them has to deal with their own losses and grief in their own way. Death is always hard to take but a sudden, unexpected death is different again.
Whilst Jen is trying to come to terms with it, and carry on as best she can, on the day of the funeral she is dealt another cruel blow. Her boyfriend of 15 years, Pete, ups and leaves.
Feeling utterly alone and bereft, we follow Jen as she tries to pick up the pieces and carry on. To continue running the business that they'd founded together.
We then have Dees' widowed husband, Luke. What does he do now, without his wonderful wife? Without her vivacious personality to brighten each day. Jen and Luke find solace and take comfort in each other, help each other. Val, Dees' mother , doesn't handle it well. I can't say i blame her in the slightest. How DO you deal with the death of a child? The thought alone is enough to have cold fingers grip my heart and send a shiver down my spine. Val is clearly upset (obviously) and at the same time is furious. Filled with an anger and rage that at times drives her to the brink of madness.
This is a tricky subject to navigate through. To deal with personal loss and tragedy in a sensitive but realistic and truthful way is an achievement in itself and something that Shari has done here with great aplomb. Each of the characters in this book are written with care and given an in depth personality that is entirely relatable .
Yes, this book is based around a horrific tragedy. But it is also so much more than that. From the start you are gripped, the action begins instantly and thanks to the authors writing style, it is all embracing. You have no choice BUT to get sucked in. Be warned, you will have watery eyes if nothing else, i spent most of it trying to swallow down the lump that formed in my throat.
It also though, has some humorous moments. It's been said before, but it is a bittersweet story. Written with delicacy and respect by Shari Low. I love her writing style and the stories she weaves. Just fabulous. I have no hesitation in recommending this to everyone.
And i must thank the author and the lovely people at Aria Fiction who sent me that first message asking if i'd like to take part in the blog tours. Each one is an absolute delight, Thank You!
About the author:
Shari Low has published eighteen books under her own name and pseudonyms Millie Conway and Ronni Cooper. She is also one half of the writing duo, Shari King, with old friend and TV presenter, Ross King. Back in the nineties, after living abroad for many years, Shari returned to Scotland, met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she lives near Glasgow with her husband, two teenagers and a labradoodle. Shari also writes an opinion column and a literary page for a newspaper and is working on the TV adaptation of one of her books. For all the latest news, visit her on Facebook, twitter, or at www.sharilow.com
