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People Who Knew Me

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Sharon Horgan (Executive Producer at Merman) says: “It has been so great to bring Kim Hooper’s emotionally and morally complex novel to life via a drama podcast. Daniella’s adaptation and direction, along with a brilliant cast led by Rosamund and Hugh, bring you right into the mind of Connie and her battle with truth and lies. This is a series that will challenge your prejudices and invite you to ask, what would you do if you had the opportunity to run away?” Without giving away the ending, it is not one of those books where everything at the end is neatly tied up in bows, but rather makes the reader think of what will happen to the characters in the future. I loved this book and strongly recommend it to anyone. This would be a great book for book clubs as there’s lots of fodder for discussion. Connie’s actions (as well as those of Drew) for a start. And Connie’s decision to run. I didn’t agree with a lot of her actions but couldn’t imagine what it would be like in those circumstances.

Emily Morris got her happily-ever-after earlier than most. Married at a young age to a man she loved passionately, she was building the life she always wanted. But when enormous stress threatened her marriage, Emily made some rash decisions. That’s when she fell in love with someone else. That’s when she got pregnant. I, myself was surprised to see that this is the author of “No Hiding in Boise” which I listened to on Audible last year-and which made my favorites list!! 💖Don't think for a minute this is all the novel explores. Holy moly, there is so much more. The choices we make, the consequences that follow. What's the "right" thing to do? It's really hard to believe this is the authors first book! I want more! (4.5 stars) Young marriage... how much can even a 'in love' couple handle? work, (major loss), school, finances, ( major loss), planning a family?, sex, old friends, annoying habits, communication, stress, depression, chronic illness, chronic 'any' long term issue, cheating, lies. Fourteen years later, Connie Prynne is diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, with her thirteen-year-old daughter Claire by her side, voiced by Isabella Sermon, Connie must confront her past so that her daughter will not be alone if she does not survive. The first audio drama from the makers of Bad Sisters, People Who Knew Me is a 10-part series, written and directed by Daniella Isaacs, adapted from the book by Kim Hooper, starring Rosamund Pike (I Care A Lot, Gone Girl), Hugh Laurie (House, The Night Manager), Isabella Sermon (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Kyle Soller (Andor, Poldark), Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter), Daniella Isaacs (Fleabag, Ladhood), and Jessica Darrow (Encanto).

Well written, thought provoking and story telling that balanced the past and present stories with equal import and substance. This is quite a feat to maintain two story lines with equal weight, especially in a debut from such a young author, but Ms. Hooper does it remarkably well. understand -- that her choices (readers will be reactivated), were driven in the same way a disease takes over a person- splits them in half? But the past has a way of coming out. How will Connie's 13 year old daughter deal with her mother's choices? What will be the consequences Connie has to face?Also, being in a health profession, I couldn't buy into the situation with her husband's mother. There are so many services available that it didn't ring true to me. Medicaid, for one, exists for people who have illnesses of that magnitude whose financial situations are dire. Even if it did mean not continuing her education as originally planned, Emily Morris marries her young love Drew. She has a happy life with Drew. That is, until circumstances change drastically. Drew’s business fails and his mother becomes chronically ill. Emily throws herself into her work as pressures mount on this married couple. Emily can see no way out of the life and difficulties. And then a twist of fate, provides a way out.

Connie's character makes me sad. Connie has spent the last 14 years raising and protecting Claire from her past, only inviting few people into her life so that she does not make connections she may have to break again one day, and doesn't want to disappoint more people. Connie just wants to be the best mother possible; give Claire everything she never had and more. Starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie, Kyle Soller, Isabella Sermon and Alfred Enoch. The first audio drama from the makers of Bad Sisters, People Who Knew Me is a 10-part series, written and directed by Daniella Isaacs, adapted from the book by Kim Hooper. And herein lies Connie’s problem. She’s closed herself to everyone and everything. And now needs help.Big fan. I started with Catastrophe, then was delighted to find Motherland. And Bad Sisters was phenomenal and delicious. It was Sharon’s genius idea to option Kim Hooper’s novel and adapt it as audio drama. I think Sharon rightly saw that the story is all about lying and if you’re only listening, it almost becomes like eavesdropping. Unfortunately, that piece wasn’t a big part of the novel. In fact, if I were to criticize author Kim Hooper, it would be in the way she glossed over how Emily was able to get a job, get paid, get insurance, etc. I enjoyed the premise of this novel though wasn’t entirely sure about the logistics of changing your name when you’re supposedly dead. And never being found out. stars but I'm rounding up because it's a debut novel and it's really impressive. It's not often I can say, "I've never read anything like this," but that's the case here. Kim Hooper bravely explores the story of a woman who makes some really bad choices before and after 9/11. I have goodread friends who enjoyed this book but I'll be the outlier. I don't mind an unlikable character if I find the story itself well-written and compelling. But in this case the protagonist was so selfish I couldn't get past it, maybe because my husband and I are/have been caretakers of elderly parents. What she ultimately decided to do to her husband was unforgivable.

The author did a great job setting up the characters. I also liked the shift in POV going from past to present as the protagonist reflected on the choices that brought her to the current quandary. Resolved to tell her husband of the affair and to leave him for the father of her child, Emily’s plans are thwarted when the world is suddenly split open on 9/11. It’s amid terrible tragedy that she finds her freedom, as she leaves New York City to start a new life. It’s not easy, but Emily---now Connie Prynne —forges a new happily-ever-after in California. But when a life-threatening diagnosis upends her life, she is forced to rethink her life for the good of her thirteen-year-old daughter. And yet? I didn’t find it riveting. The main character is unsympathetic to a degree that I just couldn’t ever dig deep and care for her. And I couldn’t get past the idea of running away from your life, I’ve just never had that fantasy, and especially taking something as horrifically painful as the events of 9/11 and using them to disappear. The blurb asks what would you do? I believe I would face the music and deal with the choices that led me there. Emily is a faulty character...( she runs away and changes her identity leaving her husband to think she died in 911. Did she run because she felt her entire life had been a lie ....and by living a REAL LIE, she felt as if she was living a more TRUTHFUL LIE?

Reviews

Meanwhile in present day California Connie’s built her life around her daughter Claire who’s approaching her 14th birthday. Claire believes her father died and the pair are close and happy until a cancer diagnosis blows their world apart. I am. I love a podcast about the acting industry called Dead Eyes, and Sweet Bobby, the catfishing investigation. I’m also listening to SSAC, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. I’ve been interested in sporting minutiae and marginal gains since reading James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, about how tiny changes can make a massive difference. My favourite character was the largely mature thirteen year old Claire. I did think the ending was abrupt and wondered if that was a sign of another book to come with these characters. A thought provoking read about choices and consequences as well things in life we sometimes have no control over.

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