A cleverly crafted story about a baby born in 1978 and how when you enter and leave the world your gender isn’t important but how your defined by everything in the middle.
Throughout this book you follow Louis / Louise from birth through childhood into adulthood. There are many similarities growing up the same friends and family but different decisions and paths forged by a chain reaction of events as they near adulthood.
When they are both called on to return to their hometown when their Mother becomes poorly, they both have the opportunity to reflect on events that happened prior to them leaving and the impact this has had.
A book that I struggled to put down as after reading Louis’ perspective , I wanted to keeping turning the pages to read Louise’s, as you were never quite sure where the story was going to take you.
It was a unique way to write the story, that I really enjoyed, it’s like reading a mirror image with some events being set in stone and others varying between Louis and Louise. A very memorable story that really makes you think of how times have changed for men and women and how society continues to evolve.
Book Blurb
If you could look at one life in two different ways, what would you see?
Louis and Louise are separated by a single moment in time, a strike of chance that decided their future. The day they were born is when their story began.
In one, Louis David Alder is born a male.
In the other, Louise Dawn Alder is born a female.
Louis and Louise are the same in many ways – they have the same best friends, the same parents, the same dream of being a writer and leaving their hometown in Maine as soon as they can. But because of their gender, everything looks different. Certain things will happen in their lives to shape them, hurt them, build them back up again. But what will bring them back home?
Available to purchase on Amazon
About the Author
Julie Cohen grew up in the western mountains of Maine. Her house was just up the hill from the library and she spent many hours walking back and forth, her nose in a book. She studied English Literature at Brown University and Cambridge University and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing, including classes for The Guardian and Literature Wales. Her books have been translated into fifteen languages and have sold nearly a million copies; DEAR THING was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Julie lives in Berkshire with her husband, son and a terrier of dubious origin.
You can find Julie on Twitter: @julie_cohen or you can visit her website: http://www.julie-cohen.com.
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