People Who Knew Me

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Based on the novel by Kim Hooper, People Who Knew Me is split across two time periods, chronicling how Emily Morris (Pike) used the terrible tragedy to escape her life in New York City and start over in California. Not everyone will agree with the choices that Connie makes, but I’m sure everyone will want to find out what happens to her and her daughter, and will read to the end of this compelling book. Their marriage deteriorates over time under the strain of caregiving, and Emily eventually begins seeing another man. Next year you can expect to hear my work on a Spotify Original, a new roundtable debate show and a special series with a multi-platinum Pop artist from the X-Factor. California has highways full of people hiding in cars behind tinted windshields and knockoff sunglasses.

This story line follows Emily to her fateful decision to fake her death in the aftermath of 9/11 simply by not answering her phone. Resolved to tell her husband of the affair and to leave him for the father of her child, Emily’s plans are thwarted when the world is suddenly split open on 9/11. It is not until she too contracts a terminal illness that she realizes that she must face those people she has abandoned if she doesn’t want to leave her fourteen year-old daughter alone in the world. Not only does Emily Morris, Hooper's heroine, think about running away from her home town, she actually does it. Readers will ponder Emily's difficult situation and often disturbing choices as they are glued to this compulsively readable tale.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. His brusque, focused style can sometimes feel pressing, but with a man such as Cave, whose honesty means he’s never ruffled, the results are great. The first line, “People who knew me think I’m dead” grabbed me and kept me reading, cover to cover, in one sitting. Your current subscription allows you to be actively logged in on up to three (3) devices simultaneously. I am excited for people to hear what we've made – the wonderful thing about audio drama is that, when done well, it can feel like eavesdropping on very, very private conversation.

Absorbing, riveting and utterly realistic, this heartfelt debut novel had me turning the pages late into the night. We pick up the narrative 14 years later when Emily (who now goes by Connie Prynne) is given a breast cancer diagnosis. And the reader compulsively continues turning page after page as the painful past history of New York begins to connect itself to a newly presented life-altering reality in California. Her previous works include People Who Knew Me (2016), Cherry Blossoms (2018), Tiny (2019), and All the Acorns on the Forest Floor (2020). Kim Hooper skillfully portrays a courageous woman facing a grave diagnosis, who must confront her difficult past for the sake of her teenage daughter.It’s refreshing to read writing smart enough to delve into these troubled waters of either/ors while managing to fish out the universal either/and that our children are what matter most in the end. A friendship with her sassy work colleague highlights the failings of her marriage, further compounded by Drew's restaurant falling through. Connie starts chemotherapy and tries to ignore the advances of fellow patient, Paul, as she delves back to her past to try to figure out where it all went wrong with Emily’s husband Drew. She was forced to because of her disease and it’s aggressiveness, so ultimately I still see her as selfish as ever. The only negative was that I really couldn’t warm to Emmy, who was faced with difficult circumstances, but seemed consistently selfish and cut-off.

Hooper’s searingly honest depiction of the challenges faced by those with these illnesses—and their caregivers—can make for uncomfortable reading at times. But when she is diagnosed with breast cancer she is forced to start addressing her past, a life she hasn’t told Claire or anyone about, a New York life, Emily’s life; a mess of a failed marriage, an affair and an accidental pregnancy that saw Emily fake her death post-9/11 and run away to LA. Connie continues retelling her story to Paul, reliving the trauma of September 11th, and the events that lead up to her faking her own. Eventually, I assumed it was to show how abhorrent a person Emily was in her past and left it at that.

Jumping between present-day California, and 9/11 New York City, the novel focuses on the decisions Emily makes after that fateful day.

Hooper reminds us that control is an illusion, that the past offers no pardons and the choices we make, in turn, make us. Connie Prynne is a single mother living in California who has just received a devastating diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.Sneha Philip hit headlines in 2021 for this very reason; her husband reported her missing on 11th September, and he never saw her again. First we follow Emily in her college years when she meets Drew and falls hopelessly and helplessly in love. Please contact me if you need podcast production support (editing, scriptwriting or sound design) from an award-winning producer for your upcoming projects!