brother. do. you. love. me.
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- €8.99
Publisher Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
WATERSTONES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
SHORTLISTED FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARD 2024
Reuben, aged 38, was living in a home for adults with learning disabilities and 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.’
When Manni received this desperate message from his youngest brother, he knew everything had to change. Together they began an extraordinary journey of repair, rediscovering the depths of their brotherhood, one gradual step at a time.
Combining Manni’s tender words with Reuben’s compelling illustrations, their story of hope and resilience questions how we care for those closest to us and draws a moving portrait of brotherly love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British travel guide Manni Coe's heartfelt debut chronicles his close relationship with his younger brother, Reuben, who has Down syndrome. The title comes from a text a 38-year-old Reuben sent Manni from the adult care center in Dorset his brother and his parents had selected for him. Recognizing the message as "clearly a cry for help" rather than an innocuous expression of affection, Manni flew from Spain to retrieve Reuben from his room at Portland Place and bring him to live in his family's cottage in the English countryside. Manni was alarmed by his brother's physical and mental regression—Reuben hadn't spoken in nearly a year—and resolved to help reverse the damage, even as he fought off dizzying waves of guilt and self-doubt. Part memoir, part therapeutic exercise (the text is dotted with colorful felt-tip illustrations from Reuben, which are included in an attempt to "give Reuben his voice back"), the book alternates between a touching account of the brothers' adult reconnection and moving sections on their boyhood, when Manni, who is gay, intuitively connected to his sibling's outsider status. This deeply felt ode to brotherly love will melt readers' hearts. Illus.
