Jennifer Jones' life began when her little sister, Kerry, was born. So when her sister dies in a tragic accident, nothing seems to make sense anymore. Despite the support of her husband, Ed, and their wonderful children, Jen can't comprehend why she is still here, while bright, spirited Kerry is not. When Jen starts to lose herself in her memories of Kerry, she doesn't realise that the closer she feels to Kerry, the further she gets from her family. Jen was never able to say goodbye to her sister. But what if she could?

This is my first read by Cooper but I know it definitely won't be the last. I expected this to be hard-hitting and depressing, which it was, but I also found my cheeks aching from the number of times I laughed or smiled. Being able to make my tears of sadness change into tears of utter laughter by a turn of the page is a talent it seems only Cooper possesses, and I applaud her for that.

What Cooper managed to do with each character is so unique in the way they were all relatable and realistic. We go between the point of view of Jennifer and Ed, who are so different yet even just reading their story made it obvious how perfect they are for each other. Their marriage and family dynamic was something I crave mine to be like should I ever choose to get married and have children myself. I loved them both individually and I loved them as a couple. It isn't often I find myself rooting so hard for fictional characters.

The subjects of love and loss broke my heart. Although we read from Jen's point of view more than Ed's, I found myself getting excited to read his chapters. The desperation and utter defeat he felt as Jen's life began to unravel was excruciating. The steady decline in her mental health was something I almost missed at the beginning and reading of Ed stepping up to try and juggle everything after Jen's struggle is brought to light made me want to climb into the book and give him a big hug - and I'm not a hugger.

Although there is a lot of humour and moments of happiness, there is always the reminder that Kerry has gone and she won't be coming back. It's horrific and broke my heart into too many pieces to count. The normal family routine of managing life at home with the children or Jen and Ed trying to find some alone time to be intimate made it clear that even though everyone goes through such terrible loss, life simply goes on. It can be hard, yes, but you have to push through the dark cloud.

I laughed, I cried, I choked on my drink during a handful of hilariously cringe-worthy scenes (I will never be able to look at Channing Tatum the same way again). This powerfully moving book is simply stunning and definitely one to read. I also couldn't help but constantly think about how well this would work as a film - maybe one day!