Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Allison Pataki for the opportunity to read this moving memoir.
Alli, 5 months pregnant, and Dave, a surgical resident, were on a flight to their babymoon where they were looking forward to some much-needed downtime. Mid-flight, Dave turned to Alli and said that he couldn't see out of one of his eyes - Alli noticed that the pupil was very dilated. Then he collapsed. The plane had to make an emergency stop in Fargo, ND, where doctors tried to save his life. It turned out to be a rare form of stroke - especially in someone who was only 30.
In order to make sense of her world and to show Dave when he recovered, Alli started a series of letters to Dave, outlining his medical journey and their new lives which became this book. We also get alternating chapters of the story of Alli and Dave's relationship with each other and their families.
This is one of those books that makes you grateful to be alive. While our bodies are amazingly resilient they are also very fragile. Alli and Dave were lucky in that money was not a real object and they had incredible family support and guidance - including Dave's dad who was a neurosurgeon. However, Alli's faith was so incredibly moving to me as well as her honesty in documenting her "new normal" life.
Highly recommended - this book will stay with me for a long time.
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