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ciaoamandareads's review
5.0
This book was so heartbreaking. I followed their story during his fight with COVID but this book has so many important missing pieces of the puzzle that I never expected. Truly, a touching memoir.
kikipix's review
2.0
Do not read if you lost someone to covid, and not for the reason you may think. I wanted to love this story and as for the audiobook experience itself, it was beautifully done to have her own voice telling the story as if you were hearing it from a friend. The story itself appealed to me having a family member working in the ICU it gave a perspective as to how the pain or loss healthcare providers feel is not limited to the patient themselves, but also seeing the loved ones grief as well. But there’s a few issues with the storytelling that took away from the read: the lack of real acknowledgment of the immense privilege, the insensitivity for others who didn’t experience the same privilege described in the book, and the toxic positivity. If this tragedy had been an isolated and unique loss experience it wouldn’t be an issue, but what made this experience unique was the unique privileged afforded to her, and that was glossed over. Grief is messy and painful and not typically accompanied by the immense privilege and opportunity afforded to Kloots, so it sets up an unrealistic and unfair expectation for others grieving s similar loss when privilege is not adequately acknowledged.
madisalvo3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
lizziepagereads's review
4.0
I’m struggling to write this review… One the one hand, it’s a powerful story about perseverance through tragedy and the way human beings come together in times of grief and sorrow to help each other. The audiobook is narrated by Amanda and the emotion of each moment spills into her reading, including the occasional reading through tears.
On the other hand, it’s horrifying to read in detail what the coronavirus can (and does) do to the human body. The book includes medical details regarding Nick’s time in the hospital and it felt intrusive and almost voyeuristic to read those parts, like I’m watching a car accident and it’s awful but I can’t look away.
Note: If you find COVID content triggering, especially details from the early months when so much was unknown, you should avoid this.
Thanks to LibroFM for the gifted copy.
On the other hand, it’s horrifying to read in detail what the coronavirus can (and does) do to the human body. The book includes medical details regarding Nick’s time in the hospital and it felt intrusive and almost voyeuristic to read those parts, like I’m watching a car accident and it’s awful but I can’t look away.
Note: If you find COVID content triggering, especially details from the early months when so much was unknown, you should avoid this.
Thanks to LibroFM for the gifted copy.
janeyre9's review
3.0
This is a really hard book to review. I love Amanda Kloots. I follow her on Instagram and always find joy in her AK thoughts of the day, musical mornings with Elvis, and reminders about how we should be grateful to move our bodies every day. Her positivity and honesty are inspiring and I admire her for sharing her covid journey with the world to spread information and awareness. The best parts of this book involve openness. Kloots gives lots of inner details about Nick's sickness, their courtship and marriage, her extended family, being a mother and a sister, and Canyon living. It's unquestionably interesting and warm and makes you feel like you know everyone involved. Kloots also doesn't spare us from any of the darker moments which takes a lot of courage and feels selfless. However, I felt uncomfortable for much of this book. Even though picking up a celebrity memoir is asking for that inner glimpse and even though when it is written by the actual celebrity they are inviting you over, this felt almost too voyeuristic to me. Having watched Amanda and Nick's journey on Instagram and experiencing that daily emotional roller coaster this felt too soon and painful to relive, even as a stranger. Maybe because I knew there could be no happy ending, it hurt my heart most of the time. That said it is a beautiful tribute to Nick and I admire Amanda and Anna even more now than I did before. I would recommend this with the caveat that it will gut you, especially the audio read by Amanda.
smalltownbookmom's review
5.0
A completely heartwrenching memoir about one woman's ordeal watching her partner (a Canadian broadway star) get COVID and suffer in the ICU for 95 days before finally losing his life. My heart broke for this new mother trying to hold it together during a pandemic and not being able to physically be near her dying husband. Listening to this on audio was such a moving experience! At several points Amanda nearly breaks down with the emotion just dripping from her voice. I don't think reading this in print would be nearly as moving. While this book was about a horrible tragedy that really should make everyone take the pandemic deadly seriously (her husband was a man in peak condition and he still lost his life), it was also ultimately INCREDIBLY uplifting and hopeful. As the author sums up in the last sentence of the book, her story is about "the goodness of humanity, importance of family, the power of faith, the joys of motherhood [and] the unbreakable bond of sisterhood." Seeing how much Nick's story brought people around the world together and the ways they worked to offer Amanda support was so inspiring, restoring my faith in the kindness that exists in the world. HIGHLY recommend this amazing memoir, especially on audio!
allib543's review
3.0
I want to start by saying that I struggled with this book. I started following Nick and Amanda story in April and I can remember so vividly where I was when I found out Nick had passed away. The story that Amanda tells in the book is vastly different than the one she tells on social media, which makes sense because it is a private versus a more public platform. I went into this book thinking that it was going to shed some light on Nick’s fight with Covid and how Amanda dealt with all her emotions. What I did not expect was to finish the book feeling angry at Amanda.
There is absolutely no doubt that this book and Amanda’s story is heartbreaking. Listening to the audiobook added a whole other layer; hearing the raw emotion in Amanda’s voice was powerful.
There is no way I could even begin to please myself in her position and I do not judge the decisions she made, rather the way she was confronted with those decisions. Her optimism and hope in the scariest and most painful of times was inspiring, as well as her love for her husband and son. I could not help but cry along with Amanda every time she thought Nick was going to die and the final chapters as she talked about her grief, I can say that I cried throughout the entire ready of reading them. I want to applaud Amanda and her ”quaran-team” for being so open and vulnerable and willing to share what their life has been like in the past year and a half.
However, the amount of privilege Amanda enjoyed (and rarely acknowledged) was off putting, and tone deaf. She called herself fortunate and blessed, often thanking God or other higher powers for things such as a house to live in a birthday party for her son food and the ability for Nick‘s family to cross the border from Canada into the United States, never recognizing that this all came from a place of privilege. The privilege of getting her story out there at the privilege of being a celebrity the privilege of her husband having been on Broadway. There are so many people who had such strong support system throughout Covid were not as privileged as Amanda and therefore did not enjoy the same benefits as she did even the fact that she was allowed in to see her husband was a privilege of itself. So many family members were not allowed in to visit their loved ones because of extenuating circumstances however she was. The days where she was not allowed to or claimed that she was kicked out or time was shortened was not because the hospital was trying to be mean as she makes it seem however having to follow the strict rules. The story takes place in the early months of Covid where no one knew very much about the virus and things were constantly changing however she seems to taking it as a personal affront to her and her family. She’s angry that she was only allowed to see Nick 4 hours a day? Or 10 minutes? Some people never got to say goodbye to their loved ones, or even be allowed in the hospital. I understand at the time her emotions were no doubt running high and of course in the moment she doesn’t care about anyone else however the frustrating part as a reader is that there was no acknowledgment of the privileges that she enjoyed. I am happy for Amanda and their for being able to be with him when he passed and to see him as often as they did, however it felt like a stab in the back to every other person in the country who was not allowed to see their loved ones.
A little acknowledgment goes a long way.
There is absolutely no doubt that this book and Amanda’s story is heartbreaking. Listening to the audiobook added a whole other layer; hearing the raw emotion in Amanda’s voice was powerful.
There is no way I could even begin to please myself in her position and I do not judge the decisions she made, rather the way she was confronted with those decisions. Her optimism and hope in the scariest and most painful of times was inspiring, as well as her love for her husband and son. I could not help but cry along with Amanda every time she thought Nick was going to die and the final chapters as she talked about her grief, I can say that I cried throughout the entire ready of reading them. I want to applaud Amanda and her ”quaran-team” for being so open and vulnerable and willing to share what their life has been like in the past year and a half.
However, the amount of privilege Amanda enjoyed (and rarely acknowledged) was off putting, and tone deaf. She called herself fortunate and blessed, often thanking God or other higher powers for things such as a house to live in a birthday party for her son food and the ability for Nick‘s family to cross the border from Canada into the United States, never recognizing that this all came from a place of privilege. The privilege of getting her story out there at the privilege of being a celebrity the privilege of her husband having been on Broadway. There are so many people who had such strong support system throughout Covid were not as privileged as Amanda and therefore did not enjoy the same benefits as she did even the fact that she was allowed in to see her husband was a privilege of itself. So many family members were not allowed in to visit their loved ones because of extenuating circumstances however she was. The days where she was not allowed to or claimed that she was kicked out or time was shortened was not because the hospital was trying to be mean as she makes it seem however having to follow the strict rules. The story takes place in the early months of Covid where no one knew very much about the virus and things were constantly changing however she seems to taking it as a personal affront to her and her family. She’s angry that she was only allowed to see Nick 4 hours a day? Or 10 minutes? Some people never got to say goodbye to their loved ones, or even be allowed in the hospital. I understand at the time her emotions were no doubt running high and of course in the moment she doesn’t care about anyone else however the frustrating part as a reader is that there was no acknowledgment of the privileges that she enjoyed. I am happy for Amanda and their for being able to be with him when he passed and to see him as often as they did, however it felt like a stab in the back to every other person in the country who was not allowed to see their loved ones.
A little acknowledgment goes a long way.