Author: Rowan Coleman
Enjoyment Rating: ***
Source: Digital Copy
Content Alert: swearing
Claire is 40, the head of the English department at her high school, and the mother of two girls, a teenager and a toddler, when she's diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. She's lucid enough to recognize what she's losing-- time with her daughters, and her love for her husband, who feels like a stranger, but she finds refuge in her memory book, a scrapbook where she records the important events of her life. Claire's story in The Day We Met is tragic, yes, but it's also complicated and sweet and infused with love. Her daughter's secondary story about meeting her biological father for the first time and choosing the path for her own future adds richness to the main story.
I applaud Rowan Colelman for being able to create an enjoyable, light, moving story about a difficult topic. I appreciated the shifting narratives, and the way that she manages Claire's moments of lucidity amidst her growing confusion. I also love the ending, with its resolution to a mysterious love story. But the most impressive thing about the book comes in the author bio, in which we learn that Coleman has five kids, including toddler twins. And she's written ELEVEN books. I want to give The Day We Met a five-star rating just for that accomplishment.
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