Eighteen Seconds by Louise Beech Book Review

If you’re looking for an extraordinary story that draws you in from the beginning and grabs a hold of your emotions until the very last page, then Louise Beech’s latest book, Eighteen Seconds is sure to be an excellent read. Those eighteen seconds refer to the time her mother says she should spend in her shoes to see how she feels. Following a disturbing family life, Louise Beech explores this in her Memoir. Searching for the truth and why things happen the way they do.

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Synopsis

Family is the best thing in your life. And the worst.

My mother once said to me, ‘I wish you could feel the way I do for eighteen seconds. Just eighteen seconds, so you’d know how awful it is.’

I thought about it. Realised we could all learn from being in another person’s head for eighteen seconds. Eighteen seconds inside Grandma Roberts’ head as she sat alone with her evening cup of tea, us girls upstairs in bed. Eighteen seconds inside one-year-old Colin’s head when he woke up in a foster home without his family. Eighteen seconds inside the head of a girl waiting for her bedroom door to open.

Writer, Louise Beech, looks back on the events that led to the day her mother wrote down her last words, then jumped off the Humber Bridge. She missed witnessing the horror herself by minutes.

Louise recounts the pain and trauma of her childhood alongside her love for her siblings with a delicious dark humour and a profound voice of hope for the future.

About The Author

Louise Beech lives in East Yorkshire and grew up dreaming of being a writer but it took many years and many rejections for her to finally get a book deal in 2015, aged 44. Her debut, How to be Brave, got to No4 on Amazon and was a Guardian Readers’ Pick; Maria in the Moon was described as ‘quirky, darkly comic and heartfelt’ by the Sunday Mirror; The Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the Popular Romantic Novel of 2019 at the RNA Awards and longlisted for the Polari Prize 2019; Call Me Star Girl was Best magazine’s Book of the Year 2019; I Am Dust was a Crime Magazine Monthly Pick; and This Is How We Are Human was a Clare Mackintosh Book Club pick. In 2023 her new novel, End of Story, will be published under the pen name Louise Swanson. Louise regularly writes short stories for magazines, blogs, and talks at universities and literary events.

My Review

Eighteen Seconds is a beautiful memoir of Louise Beech’s life from a small child to more recently. It chronicles her life with her siblings living with a mother who was an alcoholic, a chronic depressive and attempted suicide. It’s not a cheerful happy story by any means and it’s obvious why someone would be nervous to share such a personal memoir.

Eighteen Seconds starts with a chilling opening scene with her mother jumping off the Humber Bridge. What follows is deeply moving, an exploration of Beech’s childhood, how things affected her and her siblings and the resulting confusion. This is a harrowing account of a family torn apart and an inspiring look at Beech’s natural maternal instinct, caring for her siblings, protecting and nurturing them during such difficult times and then onto an uplifting account, offering hope to many who have been in similar situations.

I enjoyed Louise Beech’s previous novel, This is how we are Human which I enjoyed but while this is a memoir, her writing skill shows through providing a beautifully written account which includes care records, excerpts of letters, poetry and on occasion almost a stream of consciousness. I only hope this was a therapeutic undertaking as it certainly feels like it to read.

While it feels wrong to say, I loved the dark humour and banter between the siblings, a coping mechanism no doubt. They have not had it easy, but they have emerged with dignity, compassion and love.

I can only admire Louise Beech’s bravery in sharing this often raw and no doubt traumatic account of her childhood. To write it as therapy is one thing but to release it to the world and lay yourself bare is incredibly brave, I don’t even have the words to describe how this must feel to go through. The bravery has paid off though, this is an excellent memoir, inspiring to anyone who has been in a remotely similar situation, giving hope to thousands of people, perhaps especially young people who need to hear that things can work out, that bad experiences can be overcome and good relationships are possible despite a bad start.

I will never look at daffodils again without thinking of ‘Eighteen Seconds’. sometimes I think when we view successful authors everything appears to be so easy for them, but this shows not to judge a book by its cover, always be kind as you have no idea what a person is going through and that there is always hope for a better future.

Rated