The book we all need to read right now…..

Over the Summer I tucked into my latest bookshop haul and knew I couldn’t put off reading a particular book any longer…..

I read a lot of non fiction books. If it’s a goodie, they make me think, learn something new, spark an idea or perhaps challenge an opinion. But this latest one, despite being a New York Times bestseller, this one was different. And I knew from the start it would be which honestly, is why I put off reading it because the last month or so got a little intense and I’m not sure I needed this particularly story occupying real estate in my head.

Back in 2016, I saw a production of the newly opened “Waitress – the Musical” on Broadway in New York City. It was truly excellent, written by Sarah Bareilles with a cast featuring Jesse Mueller, Keala Seattle (you know her, she’s the woman with the INCREDIBLE voice that went on to be Oscar nominated for the song “This is Me” in Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman”) and an exceptionally talented man named…..Nick Cordero. He played a pretty mean character in the show but was so great in his role of Earl, that promptly after the final bow and devouring the show’s Playbill, I went onto to follow them all on Instagram to learn more about the people behind this fabulous show.

Cut to 2020 and Instagram (as it does best) served me up some suggested content…. which happened to be a series of videos from Nick Cordeiro’s wife, Amanda Kloots. She looked kinda familiar, she was a dancer- turned-trainer to a few celebrities in the US, which may have been where I recognised her from. Amanda had posted a series of emotional and heartfelt videos asking her own social community for help, because her husband, Nick, a 41 year old happy, healthy, talented-as-heck, very strong man (and new father to an 9 month old son named Elvis) had contracted Covid-19. He was now in the ICU in an LA hospital, in an induced coma.

As the days and months went on, I continued to follow Amanda from afar as shared the progress of Nick’s journey and how her family and community were dealing with the life changing experience they were all going through. Her videos garnered world wide following, extensive media coverage and raised much needed awareness for the REAL LIFE impact the pandemic was having on families globally just like hers. A testament to the sheer power of social media platforms and their ability to actually rally for good.

I was in awe of her. Truly. Of someone I only knew from the internet. She was so honest. So committed to share the most terrible time in her life with strangers. She became so relatable because she was dealing with the same things everyone else was at the time….like trying to keep her small business afloat (and only source of income at the time,) trying to parent a child, trying to ensure friends and family were all safe….but at the same time, her husband was also dying. Yet, what she was putting out there was filled with hope, positivity, kindness and total determination and I have no idea how she did it. She was incredible. I DM’d Amanda one day and told her just that and I know I wasn’t the only one. (she actually replied to me too, like I said, Kindness.)

Amanda went onto document her story in a best selling book released last year titled “Live your Life.” The title is of one of Nick’s original songs he wrote and one that became the anthem and as Amanda said, his encore, for the fight of his life. For the 90 days Nick was in the hospital she went ‘live’ at 3pm every single day and sang that very song to camera with her global army of supporters in an effort to “Wake up Nick” while he was in his coma. In doing so, thanks to her rapidly growing Instagram community, Amanda made her husband the chart topping rock star he always wanted to be.

I want to tell you now that this story doesn’t have the happy, fairytale ending that you would so desperately hope. This story will absolutely break your heart. I knew the ending and that’s why I was putting off reading it.

But the way in which Amanda, together with her sister Anna have shared their experience will absolutely make you smile through the sadness you know is coming with a renewed appreciation for the good in humans. What people did for this family (celebrities and ordinary folks like you and me) will floor you just as much as the highs and lows of what Nick went through medically.

You will also get a very real #nofilter insight into what it was like for the most experienced of medical teams dealing with this from the inside of an LA hospital in March 2020. There are no statistics, opinions for or against anything in this book. This is simply the first person re-telling of a very REAL, timely story. What you’ll gain is knowledge, perspective and understanding that we can all benefit from.

Unless you’ve walked in the shoes of Amanda or the many, many families that have been in a position like hers over the past 2 years, the rest of us will never, ever know what such profound loss caused by this pandemic really feels like.

As invested as I felt when this story was playing out in real time, I put off reading this book because, selfishly, I just didn’t want to feel sad. But I read it in 2 days, it was so beautifully written. It might make you cry. It might not. But it will definitely make you open your eyes, heart and mind to the immense power and importance of community and to never underestimate how genuine kindness can have a lasting impact on someone else’s life, forever.

You can buy “Live your Life,” by Amanda Kloots here or download on Audible here.

Image credit: Instagram @amandakloots