Inspirational stories I'm excited to read abut in 2023 💖🤩.
We visited Leeds yesterday, with our eldest daughter, Rose, whilst Hermione spent some post-Christmas time with her grandma and grandad.
I was on the hunt for a book called 'Brother. Do. You. Love. Me' by Manni and Reuben Coe.
I was happy to find it and also delighted to find it was signed by the authors who had done a book signing a few days previously!
The book chronicles the very beautiful relationship between two brothers, one of which has Down Syndrome.
Reuben sent a text to his brother Manni, reading 'Brother. Do. You. Love. Me' during the pandemic, when restrictions were at their high. He was living in a home for adults with learning disabilities, and the isolation became intense. He had stopped speaking and had an increasingly low mood.
Manni read the message and left his life in Spain to move in with Reuben, and they took care of each other over the following year, moving into a cottage in the countryside.
I was chatting to the guy in the bookshop, and he was saying that during the signing, Reuben spoke to the crowd about the book for one of the first times, and it was incredibly moving.
It just goes to show how much love, understanding and being connected means so much to us as humans. And how much when we don't have it, how quickly we can become withdrawn.
I know it will be a moving read, as I often think about how close and tender the relationship is between Rose and Hermione. I also often think how that relationship will flourish and develop during adulthood.
I also know it will be an important story to tell with regards to the realities of the intense loneliness during the height of the pandemic, and in particular, for those in adult social care.
I do hope it is widely read, so we can learn and move further forward as a society in terms of how we take care of each other.
I will let you know how I get on! 💕😊
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