Beautiful Day by Kate Anthony

Today is the day that things are going to change for Rachel Bidewell. She will walk through the doors of Clifton Avenue Care Home and start a new life. Rachel is returning to work. And as she discovers, juggling a new job, three children and an ex husband can feel like drowning.  Someone needs to throw her a lifeline... 

Philip doesn't seem like an obvious lifesaver. He has just lost the one person who ever cared for him and, even as an adult, he doesn't know how to live in the real world.

But might Philip and Rachel each have something the other needs?

Beautiful Day is the stunning debut by Kate Anthony. It follows the story of Racheal as she gets used to the challenges of her new life since her husband left her for another woman, she now has to juggle the day to day needs of their three children as well as starting a new job at ……………. Care home. It soon becomes apparent that this isn’t going to be a normal 9-5 job that she can switch off from when she is made key worker of a new resident Philip. Philip is a large full grown man whose mum has died, he has never been in the outside world and he doesn’t communicate well. How will Racheal find a natural balance to life to help herself as well as her children and Philip?

I really felt for our main character Racheal I think she deserves a medal, you could feel the hurt in her when trying to deal with Deborah but for me it was heartbreaking the emotion you feel when she has to try and deal with one of her children wanting to stay with his dad and his new partner when she just wants to keep all of her family close and together, as a parent this must be one of the hardest things to deal with battling between what is best for your child and having to deal with another woman looking after your child. If her personal life isn’t hard enough she then has the lovely Philip to care for.

Philip really touched my heart and it is because of his character that I really do hope the author releases a follow up to this book just to see his progress, I am surprised how much I found I cared for the lovely Philip.

It is quite clear from the authors writing that she has in-depth knowledge of not only people with disabilities but also within the care community. It really is a thought provoking read that also has a splash of romance as well as some witty humour to lighten the tone. For me this was a brilliant debut and I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

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