The Day We Met: A Novel

Rowan Coleman

Mar 2015 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this eBook

For fans of Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You comes a beautifully written, heartwarming novel about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. The Day We Met asks: Can you love someone you don’t remember falling in love with?
 
A gorgeous husband, two beautiful children, a job she loves—Claire’s got it all. And then some. But lately, her mother hovers more than a helicopter, her husband, Greg, seems like a stranger, and her kids are like characters in a movie. Three-year-old Esther’s growing up in the blink of an eye, and twenty-year-old Caitlin, with her jet-black hair and clothes to match, looks like she’s about to join a punk band—and seems to be hiding something. Most concerning, however, is the fact that Claire is losing her memory, including that of the day she met Greg.
 
A chance meeting with a handsome stranger one rainy day sets Claire wondering whether she and Greg still belong together: She knows she should love him, but she can’t always remember why. In search of an answer, Claire fills the pages of a blank book Greg gives her with private memories and keepsakes, jotting down beginnings and endings and everything in between. The book becomes the story of Claire—her passions, her sorrows, her joys, her adventures in a life that refuses to surrender to a fate worse than dying: disappearing.

Praise for The Day We Met
 
“[Rowan] Coleman executes another incredibly powerful novel that is beautifully written. The story is so well-crafted, it’s impossible to put the book down. The tale is so poignant and heartbreaking that readers will be completely engrossed with the characters while experiencing a wide array of emotions.”—RT Book Reviews
 
“[The Day We Met] is, at heart, a book about mothers, daughters and the strong bonds that exist between women even during heartbreak. Coleman will make you cry with this emotional, beautifully written novel.”—Kirkus Reviews

“As with Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes, I couldn’t put this book down.”—Katie Fforde
 
“Rowan Coleman’s heartbreaking, humorous novel about a family in crisis vividly reminded me about the fierce, resilient core in all kinds of love. Readers of Lisa Genova’s Still Alice and Elin Hilderbrand’s Beautiful Day will especially savor this book.”—Nancy Thayer

Ratings and reviews

The Day We Met by Rowan Coleman is a British novel. Claire Armstrong is an English teacher, has a husband, two daughters, and has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Despite a new medication, Claire’s condition is rapidly deteriorating. Her mother, Ruth has moved into the house to help take care of Claire and her three year old daughter, Esther. Caitlin, Claire’s other daughter, is almost twenty-one, and is home from the university until the start of the new semester (or so everyone believes). Claire’s husband, Greg is younger than Claire (they never gave his exact age) and they have only been married a short time (over a year). Claire can no longer drive (since she forgot what a steering wheel was and plowed into a mailbox). Now she is having to give up teaching which she loved. Ruth tries to keep an eye on Claire, but sometimes Claire is just determined and escapes. The first time she disappears in the rain and no one can find her. Claire ends up at a coffee shop and meets a nice man named Ryan. Ryan gives Claire his phone number. Claire gets back home, but she will soon find a way to break free again. Claire knows what she is doing is wrong, but she does it anyway (then she gets lost, forgets where she lives, who she is, and cannot find her way home). Greg feels the loss of Claire the most. Claire is withdrawing from Greg and acts like he is a stranger. Greg gives Claire a journal to use. Recommended by her counselor, Diane to use a journal as a memory book. For Claire and the family to write down things to remember, events, etc. Caitlin is not sure how to tell her mother and the family her news. She knows she needs to tell them, but she keeps putting it off. Claire has finally told Caitlin about her biological father. Caitlin thought he didn’t want her, but it turns out he never knew about her. Little Esther is a drama queen (her way or temper tantrums) and does not quite understand what is happening to her mother. When Claire starts acting more childish, Esther is her co-conspirator (which leads to another escape to the park). Claire ends up meeting Ryan again. She really likes him and he cares for her. Will Caitlin meet her biological father? What is Caitlin hiding from everyone? Will Claire and Greg be okay? Who is Ryan? The Day We Met is also has chapters where it goes back into the childhood of Claire and Caitlin as well as insight into how Ruth turned out the way she did (how she changed from a carefree hippie). I have to admit it took me three tries to get through this book (I have been trying to read this book since March). It does have a nice ending, but it is a depressing book. I give The Day We Met 3 out of 5 stars. It is an interesting story (about early onset Alzheimer’s and how it can affect a woman and her family). I just think it is lacking. I do not know if we needed all the drama with Caitlin added into the story as well as Esther and her over-the-top behavior. I did like the twist with Ryan (though I did figure it out early on in the book). There is some mild foul language in the book (thankfully, just a little) and it is written in the first person (from different character’s perspective). I received a complimentary copy of The Day We Met from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

Loved it, but, it ended too soon

About the author

Rowan Coleman is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Accidental Mother and its sequel, The Accidental Family, as well as Another Mother’s Life, named an Indie Next notable book, and Mommy by Mistake. She lives with her husband and children in England.