by Manni Coe & Reuben Coe
Published by Little Toller Books
Illustrations by Reuben Coe
Cover Design by Graham Shackleton
Cover Artwork by Reuben Coe
In our uncertain lives & strange times - we're at around 2½ years into the COVID-19 lockdown & recovery evolution - this book is one that will go straight to your heart & remind everyone what matters.
However established our lives might have been - or seemed - none of us could have prepared for the changes & disruption the world would deal us or how we would need to cope with everything as lockdown evolved.
Everyone is in their own zone, living the best life they can. Imagine if you already had extra challenges before the sudden onset of chaos that morphed with new developments, restrictions & fear sometimes daily & without warning.
Some personal worlds were shaken much harder than others.
Even with a small family, most people have some kind of network surrounding them. Some individuals love the buzz of a hectic, busy life whilst others choose to keep their world trimmed to a tidy shape they can deal with & try to enjoy.
We're all individuals.
Reuben & Manni are brothers.
*Reuben, aged 38, was living in a home for adults with learning disabilities. He hadn’t established an independent life in the care system and was still struggling to accept that he had Down’s syndrome. Depressed and in a fog of anti-depressants, he hadn’t spoken for over a year*
*Increasingly isolated, cut off from everyone and everything he loved, Reuben sent a text message*
brother. do. you. love. me.
THIS desperate message from his youngest brother was the spark that set things in motion in Manni's mind & his heart decided things needed to happen.
It's always hard knowing the right thing to do in many situations but even if Manni didn't know the answer he knew he had to do something. That thought led to action & was going to change the future more than anyone could imagine.
When we're interested in & care about someone, we can choose friendship. To care FOR someone when it might be necessary to keep them safe is an ENTIRELY different thing.
Manni knew his youngest brother's life & routine had changed even more because of lockdown. He had no idea how profoundly the breakdown in basic communication before that grey, pandemic-related phase started, would be the invisible downfall of Reuben's whole world.
Manni's decision to look after Reuben & move the two of them to a cottage in the countryside will prove to be the greatest challenge for both of them but also the best & maybe only chance to try & reconnect as brothers.
There are moments in their story that will make a lot of us see things differently. The tiniest moment in a daily routine or simple task can be the biggest challenge to Reuben & anyone else.
It takes more than caring, patience & determination. Manni has to be much more than a brother.
SO. MUCH. more.
This story truly shines with hope.
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