We Own The Sky by Luke Allnutt

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Trapeze (8 Feb. 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1409172260
ISBN-13: 978-1409172260
Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 3.1 x 24.1 cm

Synopsis

A story about love, loss and finding hope-against all odds.

Rob Coates can’t believe his luck. There is Anna, his incredible wife, and most precious of all, Jack, their son, who makes every day an extraordinary adventure. Rob feels like he’s won the lottery of life. Or rather-he did. Until the day it all changes when Anna becomes convinced there is something wrong with Jack.

Now Rob sleepwalks through his days, unable to bridge the gulf that separates him from his wife, his son and the business of living. But he’s determined to come to terms with what’s happened-and find a way back to life, and forgiveness.

We Own the Sky will resonate with anyone who has ever suffered loss or experienced great love. Luke Allnutt shows that the journey from hope to despair and back is never as simple as we think, and that even the most thoroughly broken heart can learn to beat again.

Review

We Own The Sky author Luke Allnutt opens the book with a preface explaining that he wrote the book whilst in hospital facing the reality that he may not live long enough to see his own son grow up. I feel this is an important piece of information as it gives the author’s state of mind when writing this book and adds to the emotional aspect of the book. Whilst the book is not about a father being unwell, but rather the young son, many of the feelings, and ways of dealing with such a heartbreaking and life changing situation are the same.

The book centres around Anna, Rob and their son Jack and the blow they are dealt when Jack becomes seriously ill. Mainly told from Rob’s perspective, the focus is on the relationship of the father and son and to what lengths you will go to when you find yourself in their position. The plot looks back at their journey and has intermissions of special memories that Rob was able to make with Jack. I don’t want to give too much away in my review, but this book should be sold with a free box of tissues. The characters of Anna and Rob met at University, brought together by the fact that they both from less privileged backgrounds and having a friend in common. They are very different personalities, Anna is very methodical, controlling stemming from her childhood as the daughter of missionaries. Rob is a lot more laid back, has no sense of urgency and doesn’t plan for the future. We are almost voyeurs to their different ways of dealing with their son’s diagnosis, and how that effects them individually and as a couple.

For all the above, this is not a depressing read, I found it rather life affirming by the end, a sense of hope in their story, that life can go on after personal tragedy. The difficult issues raised in We Own The Sky are handled with great care and empathy; Luke Allnutt writes with skill, understanding and a comprehension of character. This is a beautiful and poignant read, that you will take to heart.