Leave Me

This book is exactly what I needed at the time. Overworked and underappreciated, Maribeth is the working mother of four-year-old twins who doesn't even realise she's had a heart-attack (she's too young to have one!) until she raises a mild concern to her doctor (and its just lucky she was already going there finally for another appointment she'd been putting off for a while). At first amidst all the tests she's annoyed that she's falling behind in work and that she can't reach her somewhat unreliable husband to pass along pick-up duties for the kids... but then suddenly things are a whole lot more serious when she has to have emergency bypass surgery, and stay in hospital for a week.

From here it turns out her mother has been called in to help look after the twins, which only means a third person for Maribeth to look after so soon after an operation. The woman is seriously useless - when something is needed from the shops urgently she (Maribeth's mother) refuses to go out in the rain because rain, so Maribeth goes. Her husband is suddenly spending longer and longer at work, and the twins are over-emotional and upset that their mother isn't getting back to normal instantly and doing mum-things.

It's at this stage that Maribeth reacts a little childishly. Possibly thinking that she's done so well and so much for so long that they could cut her a little slack and help out, and baby her for a change, but her family are used to her being Wonder Woman, so when she suddenly isn't able to be anymore they're less than understanding. So Maribeth packs a bag, gets on a train, and leaves.

She loves her family deeply, and writes letters she'll never send to the twins almost every day, but this is what it takes for them all to clear their heads a little and look at things objectively, and Maribeth comes to realise a lot of things about herself, her family, and life in general. She makes some new friends who aren't 'forced' friends as I call them (other parents of children your own kids are near - not necessarily people you want to be around) and gets some space from what she thought was her dream job with her best friend, but may not necessarily still be the case.

This was a book I devoured in mere hours. Not a whole lot happens, but the characters are relatable, it's not one-sided, and I'm glad to have read it. This is a solid read that's believable, and the ending was satisfying in a way I wasn't sure would be possible until Forman made it work.

I don't read a lot of adult fiction these days, but when I saw Gayle Forman had a new book coming out, I had to read it and I'm so glad I did.

Forty-four year old Maribeth Klein lives in New York with her husband Jason, and their four year old twins, Liv and Oscar. Maribeth works at a magazine, Frap, alongside her best friend, Elizabeth. She took the job with the idea that it wouldn't be full time but she still finds herself working on her days off and trying to fit everything in. When she begins having pain in her chest she chalks it up to reflux and ignores it. Luckily she had an OBGYN appointment scheduled for the following day and she's sent to the ER where she undergoes surgery for stuttering myocardial infarction.

Reading about real world issues is always more chilling to me than reading about something paranormal, and this is certainly the case in Leave Me. Knowing that what happens to Maribeth could happen to almost anyone is scary and her attitude towards it, to want to know how much of an inconvenience it would be to her, was such a reflection of our society these days.

At home Maribeth does most of the work, Jason has a lot going on at work, so despite recovering from having major surgery, Maribeth soon finds herself doing chores and taking care of the twins, and herself. Jason's default is to always assume things will work out, mostly because Maribeth always makes sure things get done, his other default is to just cancel on things and not see them through. It was so easy to empathise with her, I could feel her seething resentment, and I felt so frustrated for her. I'm not a mother but I could totally relate to having to find time to do everything, to always be the one running errands, doing chores. I think a lot of readers will be able to see themselves in Maribeth.

It takes a lot of skill to make a story about everyday people compelling but Gayle Forman excels at this. I was riveted from the beginning and all the way right to the end. The story of Maribeth's birth mother was intriguing and paired nicely with her recovery story. It was fascinating to imagine her new, temporary life.

The ending was beautifully done and to an extent it surprised me, I felt quite overwhelmed and it certainly made me cry a lot.

Leave Me is a captivating story of one woman's recovery, her chance to make peace with her past, and to decide her future. It's a story that will resonate with a multitude of readers.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my Netgalley copy.