This memoir by author Louise Beech has got to be one of the saddest and most heartbreaking thing I’ve read for a long time. I’ve read a number of the authors fiction books and they are always very moving and heart-rending and now I can see just where it all comes from, this is the most moving and heart-rending book of them all. Written in her usual easy read style this is a memoir which focusses mainly on her childhood and her mother’s suicide attempt in 2019. To go through all this and still come out the other side a strong and happy (I hope) woman with her own family is actually pretty amazing.

It goes without saying this is brilliantly well written and put together, I would expect nothing less, but it’s also a book that has been written from the heart. With contributions from her uncle, twin sisters and brother, the story started when her mother (and I use that word loosely) tried to commit suicide by jumping from the Humber bridge. The story of her recovery is told alongside the authors upbringing and details some of the dreadful events in her life; things that no mother should allow a child to go through. Any child, but especially not their own child.

The trauma that these four children suffered, along with the physical and mental abuse, is something it’s hard to reconcile in my head with the bright and cheerful person I’ve seen at a number of book festivals. It’s clear that she has always been a caring, nurturing person and thank goodness for that as she was more of a mother to her sibling than their own mother was. It’s a very brave person who opens themselves up like this and shares such horrible times. Alongside the trauma and no that isn’t too strong a word there is dark humour, particularly in the family group chat, a way to get out some of the disturbing emotions. I can see that there would be a lot of triggers in here for some people, but if you can you really should read this book. You may have a tear or two, I did. You may feel angry, I did. But my overriding feeling was that I just wanted to give the author, her sisters and brother, a big hug.

Having read some of Louise’s books before, I can now see where bits of her life have been threaded into her stories. But it’s not a thread of darkness; rather it’s a thread of hope, and daffodil yellow in colour. And that’s what we have in Eighteen Seconds. Against the darkness, is the light of hope and freedom shining through. A determination not to be defined by the horrific neglect and abuse that Louise and her siblings endured. There were times that this book made me so angry with everything that Louise has gone through. But I was left with the overriding bond and love that Louise has with her sisters and brother.

I love Louise's books and I really enjoyed this memoir in which she lays herself, and her family life, bare. I appreciate her honesty and I can truly relate to several issues she has been through in her life. I found her story heartbreaking on a couple of levels, and getting a glimpse into her personal life made me appreciate her novels even more.

I began this book knowing that I enjoyed Louise Beech's writing and this has firmly consolidated my opinion.
A memoir that tells of such abuse is always going to be difficult to read and certainly to write but this tale was unputdownable, told with a dignity and strength about a family who are admirable in every respect despite terrible treatment.
I don't normally read non fiction but this was a really beautifully written and thought through account.

As explained by Louise Beech in her book, Eighteen Seconds: “Family is the best thing in your life. And the worst.” Louise’s memoir about her mother’s jump from a bridge is titled eighteen seconds as her mother often said to her, I wish you could feel the way I do for eighteen seconds. This book follows the highs and lows of Louise and her siblings as they attempt to assist their mother with her recovery. Shockingly, Louise’s mother has survived the fall. As Louise details the recovery, she also walks back through memory lane to detail how they have ended up in this spot. Parts of this book were difficult to read, as it was emotional reading everything that Louise has had to undergo. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn’t quite sure how to write a review for this book to do it the justice it deserves but here goes!
This is such an emotion packed book that one minute it had me in tears the next minute it had me laughing.
Louise has triumphed over adversity & should be proud of the woman she has become. Louise has laid bare her life in her memoir & I applaud her for doing it.
Put quite simply, Louise Beech is an outstanding author & there aren’t enough stars to award this book in the review!

Firstly I must confess I went into this book completely blind, I had never heard of the author and had no concept of what lay in store with this heartbreaking and raw memoir.

Eighteen seconds tells the personal story of a family coping with the aftermath of their mothers suicide attempt and tells the story of their childhood.
It is raw, dark, gritty , heartbreaking but through the saga this family goes through their always remains love and hope.
Through the book the author grows and reveals more and more intimate thoughts until you are transported into the family and it’s hard to not want to reach into the pages and hug our narrator.
I would be very interested in reading more from the author and would recommend although please be aware there is suicide, alcoholism, child abuse and sexual abuse references.

Oh my. I think I may have guessed Louise Beech would wear her heart on her sleeve for this memoir; apart from the joy, depth and passion that inhabit her novels and that make her writing so memorable, I first met Louise not so very long after the circumstances in 2019 that she tells us here made her start this book. She's an amazing person who, despite everything going on at that time, still came out to meet the readers and smile. And in Eighteen Seconds, there are plenty of times when Louise has so many reasons not to smile yet still, there is humour hiding the emotions and sadness and I felt so privileged to be allowed this window into her world. Together with what is very obviously a close-knit family (think of those hilarious sisterly book launch videos!) they have truly been there for each other for many, many years; not just because they wanted to (and it shines through that they did, and still do) but because they had to. I'm not sure that the bond that here is so strong would be there for everyone, or that many could make it work the way Louise has. The memoir is a as powerful for what it hints at as for what it tells us, and all power to her for this. So brave to even consider allowing readers in, Highly appropriate that publication date will coincide with daffodils season....

I’m a Louise Beech “super fan” as I’ve never come across another writer who makes me feel the way she does when I read her books. I’ve read her book as Louise Swanson too and it also gave me goosebumps but Eighteen Seconds was a very different experience for me. I’m actually lost for words a little which is very unlike me but I just don’t think I can give a review of someone else’s life and upbringing without getting very angry and upset on their behalf-this book is a tough read! And although people say you don’t understand another persons life until you walk in their shoes, through her descriptive and heartbreaking narrative, I truly felt connected to Louise and her family as I journeyed with them during their turbulent childhood. An immersive and emotional experience for me but highly recommended!

Memoirs, by their nature, can be remarkably dull, or can be packed with tales of unbelievable success - you know, the rise and rise into fame and fortune, somehow, or the downright boring blah-blahness of someone else's life. You end up thinking, 'Who cares?' or worse. Louise Beech's memoir is none of those things, it's both harrowing and hilarious in equal measure. There's no doubt that Beech's childhood was rough, but it's the way she recounts the story, the narrative style and the narrative structure that has that Beechian way of hooking you: it circles back on itself, then comes back to the present, and in so doing forms links with the past and the present. I think this demonstrates how life is being processed by her, how she, Louise Beech, is trying and has been trying to understand how all of the issues came to be, and how she has come to be who she is. There's a depth to the narrative that is often obscured by a lightness of touch, a darkness of humour.

As well as a memoir, which demonstrates the relationships and trajectory of Beech's life, it's also a book about writing because it tackles how, despite all the issues, she became the writer she is. Fascinating stuff, and highly recommended.

My grateful thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This memoir was perfection in every which way. I can’t say much more without getting into items the cover and synopsis doesn’t cover. But just read this. No matter what type of genre you’re into, this is a memoir that everyone should read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC

I will start this review by declaring that I am a huge Louise Beech fan. She has an easy way with words & a lightness of touch when she tells a story, which I was glad of, as this story is a true one. And a heartbreaking one.

It’s the story of Louise & her siblings. A story of love, resilience, humour, family and ultimately, survival. Louise shines a light on the past and examines it as best she can. She tells her story, using the limited written records (how frustrating the redacted accounts must have been) and her own memories, alongside accounts from her sisters, brother and uncle. It is testament to her writing that I feel like I know this family, and I hurt for them.

Saying that, the narrative is told with a dark humour that partly lightens the story & an honesty that is matter of fact. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time.

Thanks to Netgalley.com for the opportunity to read this book. A memoir about Louise and her siblings turmoiled upbringing. Through their growing up with a single mother, dealing with alcoholism, depression, neglect, suicide and live in boyfriends. The story is told from present time with alternating childhood memories. I couldn't put it down.