When Rabbit Hayes passes away from cancer her family and friends struggle to come to terms with her death.
Most of the audiobooks I listen to are from my local library via the BorrowBox app, as a result, they tend to be a couple of years old. Below The Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin, is just such an audiobook. Beyond the tiny bit of blurb I scanned on the app, "...will make you laugh, cry and shout with joy...... perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Marian Keyes" I knew nothing about the book.
Below The Big Blue Sky has one of the most emotional opening chapters I've ever come across. I'm sure listening to the story, rather than reading it, made the opening scene even more moving thanks to the wonderful narration of Simone Kirby. We join the Hayes family and friends as they gather around the hospice bed of forty-year-old Mia 'Rabbit' Hayes who is dying of breast cancer. I found my eyes welling with tears at the reactions of the people gathered around as the inevitable happened.
The rest of the book focuses on how the family struggles to come to terms with their loss. For some it's having responsibility thrust upon them, for others, it's the fear of the unknown, and for most, there's an element of survivor's guilt. Funeral arrangements are heated as some want a traditional occasion while others want to abide by Rabbit's unorthodox wishes. The guardianship of her teenage daughter, Juliet, is another point of friction. Rabbit wanted her older brother Davey to raise Juliet. The only problem is that Davey is a musician who now lives in America and spends most of his time touring, hardly a stable lifestyle for a grieving teen.
Much of the focus of the story is on Rabbit's older sister. Having witnessed what her sister went through, Grace is faced with the dilemma of deciding whether to be tested to see if she has the same genetic markers for breast cancer and what to do if she does. The scenes featuring Grace and her family came across as incredibly real, the quandary between wanting to have all the facts and at the same time being able to remain in denial. The author manages to tread a fine line between sensitivity and being informative.
Over a period of two years, we get glimpses into how various members of the family are dealing with their loss, seeing how they grow emotionally. The conclusion is almost as moving as the opening pages. It was at this point that I discovered that the author has an earlier novel, The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes, which tells the story of Rabbit and her devastating diagnosis. I don't think I'm emotionally ready to read the story at this moment but I hope to in the near future as Rabbit sounds like a wonderful character.
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