This One Sticks With You
You’re Not You: A Novel
by Michelle Wildgen
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten around to blogging. I actually read this book back before this semester started and life got crazy so it’s been a while but I’ve got a few minutes to jot down a few thoughts. I couldn’t put this book down and the two main characters were amazingly well written. They were believable and human.
Kate is a sophisticated woman nearly completely paralyzed and dying quickly from ALS. She and her husband hire Bec, a somewhat apathetic college student to help care for Kate when her husband, Evan isn’t there. Bec is having an affair with a married professor and we quickly realize that Kate and Evan’s marriage isn’t in as good of shape as it initially appeared.
Kate and Bec grow incredibly intimate and begin to go beyond their roles of sick person and caretaker to something deeper and more intertwined. They make decisions and choices that change their lives that they may not have made without the influence and support of the other.
I thought the ending of the book was very well done and I found myself thinking about the characters awhile after I’d finished the book. That’s when I know it’s a good one. My mom thought this one was a bit too depressing but I tend to like that kind of gloomy modern lit that turns some people off. Give it a try if you like intricate contemporary novels that look at the darker side of life.
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