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If Not For You
- Author
- Georgie Lucas
- Narrator
- Mariam Abu-Hejleh
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Publish Date
- 27 January 2022
- Run Time
- 10 hours 22 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Memoirs
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What to expect
_______________________
'An extraordinarily brave, honest and tender book' RACHEL CLARKE
'Full of strength and hope' KATE MOSSE
'The most beautiful thing I have ever read' TOM BRADBY
'Extraordinary' ANITA RANI, WOMAN'S HOUR
On the 17th November 2019, Grey Atticus Fox was born, nine weeks early, to Georgie and Mike in a Kent hospital.
Heart wrenching, cathartic, life-affirming, this is her account of the 21 days they had together, and its aftermath - the search to make sense of unimaginable loss. It bears witness to both the confusion and the clarity that accompany great pain, and stands as a testament to empathy, care and humanity when life is at its hardest.
'He was looked after by strangers who became family, and he saw more kindness, more love, in twenty-one days than some might see in a lifetime. For his brief moments in this world, he experienced all of the very best things it can offer.'
Georgie's spare, intimate and at times surprisingly comic writing offers an extraordinary message of hope. If Not For You is about the redeeming power of love, even in our darkest hour.
'Hypnotic' MAIL ON SUNDAY
''Profoundly moving' TIMES2
'A testimony to empathy, care and humanity when life is at its hardest' STYLIST
'I cannot stop thinking about it' LUCY FOLEY
'An unflinching and beautiful book' SOPHIE KINSELLA
'Georgie Lucas writes superbly' MIRIAM STOPPARD
Critics Review
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Heart-breaking, beautiful, important, full of integrity, powerful and honest, inspiring and full of the wonder of women and love... In bits but also full of admiration... Georgie is a wonderful writer, clear and honest, but never sentimental, and she lets all the other people going through this terrible time with her shine as well... Full of strength and hope, and I've no doubt will both help many and also give comfort to other mothers & fathers who have lost a child
Kate Mosse
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This quietly devastating account of birth, pain and loss is gripping. As I read, I was lost in the quiet, tense atmosphere of Grey's story. Georgina Lucas portrays the world of the NICU in minute, often poetic detail, finding warmth and humour when life seems bleakest. It is an unflinching and beautiful book, ending on a note of light and love in a way that should inspire us all.
Sophie Kinsella
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An extraordinary read... This tender, exquisite memoir explores devastating loss and grief, yes, but most of all it is a book about the surpassing, redemptive power of love... I cannot stop thinking about it
Lucy Foley
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I finished reading this yesterday in a welter of emotions and not a few tears. I think that this is an amazing story, delicately but powerfully told. Georgina's observations of people, places and events ring so true - they are so often searingly accurate and also so wonderfully compassionate. Despite what could be an inexorably sad story I'm interested that the words I wrote down as I read it are all positive: optimism / hope / strength / power / love. It is my firm belief that immortality is being remembered by those who loved us and Greyman undoubtedly will continue to be remembered and celebrated.
Dr Richard Shepherd
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Wow. That has been a heart-wrenching few hours' reading - difficult to read with streaming eyes! It's an incredibly sad but in some ways, also a truly beautiful story. It is heart-breaking in the sense of loss and tragedy, but also uplifting in the way the love sings from each page. Really quite extraordinary.
John Nichol
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Georgie Lucas writes superbly with her spare, and unsentimental prose
Miriam Stoppard
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This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read; a heart-breaking account of a tragic death that is also a profound, lyrical, sometimes funny and ultimately joyful meditation on the meaning of life. The book of the year, perhaps the decade.
Tom Bradby
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Beautifully written, searingly honest and profoundly uplifting, this is a book to remind us what is most important in life; a book for anyone who has suffered a loss, or ever will... In short, it is a book for everyone
Katherine Webb
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I just finished Georgie's book, and am completely shattered by the searing grief and pain which she was able to convey to me, the reader. Beautifully written, it was hard enough to relive with you all the days leading up to Grey's death, then the gorgeously cathartic family funeral lulls one into feeling somewhat healed. Only to be completely shattered by the almost unbearable piercing pain and grief of their loss, so well expressed that I am totally in awe of the way that you and Mindy and all the family went through this pain together, and found beauty and profound gifts to take away. Well done Georgie, I think it will bring solace and help to anyone going through this and give them a primer on how to be present and honest with themselves and those who love them. Because this honesty becomes a gift.
Dr Rita Lynn
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Extraordinary... earth-shattering... so full of love
Woman’s Hour
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Profoundly moving
The Times
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[A] heart-wrenching and hopeful book... about the redeeming power of love... A meditation on the meaning of life
Sunday Post
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[If Not For You] might be one of the most beautiful and inspiring things you'll read... Tender, heart-breaking and astonishingly eloquent, its pages flow with love, hope and sometimes even laughter
Evening Standard Magazine
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In this brave, unflinching book Lucas looks back with love and hope at the 21 days of life granted to her baby son, who was born nine weeks premature
The i
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Harrowing... If anyone is going through this trauma in the current socially distanced hospitals, this book will be in lieu of all those hugs... A message from one mother to another, reminding them they are not alone
Mail on Sunday
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It is heartbreaking and beautiful
Sophie Ellis Bextor
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[Lucas's] valuable story is important not just for its own sake; it could help us to speak more, and better, about an unfathomable experience that too many parents endure
TLS
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The warmest, most beautiful book on love you'll read this year... by turns funny, observant, deeply moving, and always immensely readable... an absolute must-read, whatever your experience of loss... an extraordinary gift of a book by a truly brilliant writer
Kat Brown
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I was moved to tears and transported to a place no one ever wants to imagine, but it also reminded me about what really matters, it is a book filled with so much more than sadness, it wrapped me in warmth and so much love
Izzy Judd
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An amazing story of human kindness... I've got huge admiration for Georgie for writing the book that no one would ever want to write, for having the courage to tell a difficult story and the talent to tell it beautifully
Marina Fogle
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I read this extraordinary book in a day and although a hugely emotional story, it is told with such love and humility that somehow it manages to create a feeling of hope amongst the heartbreak... If Not For You is a reminder to appreciate the love we can find through experiences we never imagined would be part of our story
Pippa Vosper
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The most beautiful book I've read this year... Heart-wrenching, hopeful, brave and profound... Georgie's words made me cry and laugh out loud at moments
Hannah Barrett
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Incredibly moving and impeccably written... The prose is understated and unsentimental, and all the more powerful for it... It made me weep and yet somehow left me uplifted... Above all, it made me think about what it truly means to be a parent and to love unselfishly
Jennie Agg
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Georgie Lucas
- Narrator
- Mariam Abu-Hejleh
- Duration
- 10 hours 22 minutes
- Release Date
- 27 January 2022
- ISBN
- 9781405552530
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
- Genre
- Memoirs
Synopsis
'If I were to look closely at the jagged edges of my fragmented heart, I'm sure I'd see that some spaces now shine with gold. And that is what he left for me.'_______________________'An extraordinarily brave, honest and tender book' RACHEL CLARKE'Full of strength and hope' KATE MOSSE'The most beautiful thing I have ever read' TOM BRADBY'Extraordinary' ANITA RANI, WOMAN'S HOUROn the 17th November 2019, Grey Atticus Fox was born, nine weeks early, to Georgie and Mike in a Kent hospital.Heart wrenching, cathartic, life-affirming, this is her account of the 21 days they had together, and its aftermath - the search to make sense of unimaginable loss. It bears witness to both the confusion and the clarity that accompany great pain, and stands as a testament to empathy, care and humanity when life is at its hardest.'He was looked after by strangers who became family, and he saw more kindness, more love, in twenty-one days than some might see in a lifetime. For his brief moments in this world, he experienced all of the very best things it can offer.'Georgie's spare, intimate and at times surprisingly comic writing offers an extraordinary message of hope. If Not For You is about the redeeming power of love, even in our darkest hour.'Hypnotic' MAIL ON SUNDAY''Profoundly moving' TIMES2'A testimony to empathy, care and humanity when life is at its hardest' STYLIST'I cannot stop thinking about it' LUCY FOLEY'An unflinching and beautiful book' SOPHIE KINSELLA'Georgie Lucas writes superbly' MIRIAM STOPPARD
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