Tuesday 26 May 2015

We are all Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman




I have been so eager to share my review for We Are All Made of Stars by the lovely Rowan Coleman, whilst reading this book it really opened my eyes up to the art of letter writing and how personal and touching they are. Rowan has such a wonderful way with words and she has no trouble putting her whole heart into letter writing. Take a look at the letter which she wrote to her husband Adam for Fathers Day.





You can hear Rowan read her letter to Adam by clicking Here all I can say say is Adam must feel very loved and I am sure this will be a letter he will treasure forever. Now it is over to Rowan to tell us a little about her interest in letter writing and why it is an important part of her wonderful new book. 


I mourn the passing of the hand written letter. There is something about a letter that is special, indelible. A letter can be tied in ribbon, or folded away into a wallet, between the pages of a book, in a way that a text or tweet never can. The paper, the envelope, the handwriting all means something unique. It puts a person, and their thoughts into one moment in time, and it keeps them there. It captures thoughts, and emotions in the same way that a photograph captures an expression. And that’s why I started to write letters again, and why letters became a very important part of my latest novel, ‘We Are All Made of Stars.’








My Review

Do not miss me, because I will always be with you…I am the air, the moon, the stars. For we are all made of stars, my beloved... Wherever you look, I will be there.

Stella Carey exists in a world of night. Married to a soldier who has returned from Afghanistan injured in body and mind, she leaves the house every evening as Vincent locks himself away, along with the secrets he brought home from the war. During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones - some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain – and promises to post these messages after their deaths. 

Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if she delivers it in time…



We Are All Made of Stars is the title of the new book by Rowan Coleman and what a wonderful title for such an accomplished read. It seems like such a long time ago since I finished reading The Memory Book so I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this authors new book baby.

Stella is the night nurse at Marie Francis Hospice and Rehabilitation Centre, she sits with some of the patients and writes a last letter with them for their loved ones to be sent after they have died. But when she writes one particular letter she feels that she should send this letter before the patient dies against her wishes.

Stella is struggling at home with husband Vincent who was a soldier in Afghanistan who returned home injured but life is nothing like it was before and there doesn’t appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel.

What an incredibly endearing read. I love the structure of this book as we move along with the story we are treated to the various letters from patients to their loved ones some which brought a tear to my eye and some made me laugh, the first one of the book in particular because I could imagine myself writing a similar one to my husband. I thought the whole letter writing idea was perfect because it really gets you thinking about if it was me on my last days who would I write to and what would I write so it really does get you thinking and it is wonderful that these family members who have lost a loved one has some last heartfelt words to read and something to keep with them to help them through the grief.

Stella was a very devoted and compassionate character and as soon as I was introduced to her I found myself being drawn into her life and felt the compassion and warmth she had when at work but also the utter heartache and devastation she faced each day when she returned home. Even now I have long since finished reading the book I still find I can’t let go of her character she was such a pure inspiration.

Stella isn’t the only great character we also have Hope, Vincent and Hugh along with some amazing supporting characters too, each of the characters bring something very insightful and helped to make the book have such an impact on me but it really was Stella who touched my heart.


This was a heartfelt read that covers some very emotional and delicate content and yet Rowan Coleman has delivered such a powerful read written in such a careful way with such tenderness, she sure does manage to put her whole heart and love into each and every one of her books.


Hardback                 Kindle




The Lovely team at Ebury have kindly offered a copy of We Are All Made of Stars to giveaway. This is a UK only giveaway. GOOD LUCK xXx


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2 comments:

  1. This is such a special, inspiring book. I adored it. Great review Rea x

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  2. I am looking forward to reading this x

    ReplyDelete

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