I listened to this a few weeks back and can’t stop thinking about it. First, you need to know that this deals with severe mental illness and the ramifications of that on the suffering individual and the loved ones. There are harrowing moments, so if you have triggers around these issues, you need to exercise caution.
Second, Joel Leslie’s narration is awesome as always. He makes the characters come alive, his voice paints pictures, and he enables the listener to inhabit the world created by the writer, Nicola Haken. He’s a masterful narrator, and deserves wider recognition.
I spent my professional career in the mental health and addiction field, and have struggled with depression myself, so I have a realistic idea of the issues being dealt with in this story. They are authentically presented, the characters are compassionately drawn, and the reality of the aftermath….The daily work that surviving mental illness entails….are beautifully done. This is a profoundly emotional story, deep and gut-wrenching. It takes you to the darkest of depths, but it also shines a light, a beacon if you will, and gives hope to the listener.
I won’t go into plot details, but I STRONGLY recommend this book to those of you looking for a modern love story about real world issues. This is an MM romance, but it’s so much more than that. This is the depth of writing and gritty story I want to see more of in this genre. It’s a powerful story bordering on literary fiction, and it has haunted me since I’ve read it. If you want a serious but life-affirming story, with excellent writing and outstanding narration, I don’t think you need to look much further than this. I loved it.