Description
When the mother of an autistic young man hires a call girl to make him happy, three lives collide in unexpected and moving ways … changing everything. A devastatingly beautiful, rich and thought-provoking novel that will warm and break your heart…
‘One of the best writers of her generation’ John Marrs
‘I guarantee you will not read anything like it this year … you will fall in love with this book’ Miranda Dickinson
‘Incredibly moving, gripping, and full of heart … The novel everyone will be talking about this year’ Gill Paul
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Sebastian James Murphy is twenty years, six months and two days old.
He loves swimming, fried eggs and Billy Ocean. Sebastian is autistic. And lonely.
Veronica wants her son Sebastian to be happy … she wants the world to accept him for who he is. She is also thinking about paying a professional to give him what he desperately wants.
Violetta is a high-class escort, who steps out into the night thinking only of money. Of her nursing degree. Paying for her dad’s care.
Getting through the dark. When these three lives collide – intertwine in unexpected ways – everything changes. For everyone.
A topical and moving drama about a mother’s love for her son, about getting it wrong when we think we know what’s best, about the lengths we go to care for family … to survive … This Is How We Are Human is a searching, rich and thought-provoking novel with an emotional core that will warm and break your heart.
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‘It had me gripped from the start and changed the way I see the world. Beautiful, bold and compelling – another fearless story from Beech’ Katie Marsh
‘A searching, rich and thought-provoking novel with an emotional core’ LoveReading ‘This book is just what the world needs right now’ Fiona Mills, BBC
‘Oh, Sebastian, I’ll never forget him. Heart is always at the core of Louise’s books and this one is no exception’ Madeleine Black
‘What a brave and prejudice busting story this is … brava’ S. E. Lynes
‘A convincing, bittersweet tale of misplaced kindness, a myriad types of vulnerability, and unexpected consequences … All the stars and more’ Carol Lovekin
‘A tender, insightful read’ Michael J. Malone
‘The most exquisite and moving story I have read in a very long time’ Book Review Cafe
‘I don’t know of another writer who portrays characters so true, flaws and all … mesmerising, the characters are beautiful but, more importantly, they’re REAL’ J. M. Hewitt
Tracey Harriman –
Oh wow.
This is a beautifully human story told with heart.
There is a young man I know very well who could easily be Sebastian. With the hormones of a 20 year old but the emotional intelligence of a child. The lines between childhood and adulthood are blurry at best. How do you know when to untie the apron strings?
This story ask questions of morals, ethics, boundaries and stereotypes, but does it without sensationalism. It’s not a story of drama, it’s a story of love. In all its guises.