People Who Knew Me

Product Information

People Who Knew Me was commissioned by Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Editor (Podcasts) for BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds And yet? I didn’t find it riveting. The main character is unsympathetic to a degree that I just couldn’t ever dig deep and care for her. And I couldn’t get past the idea of running away from your life, I’ve just never had that fantasy, and especially taking something as horrifically painful as the events of 9/11 and using them to disappear. The blurb asks what would you do? I believe I would face the music and deal with the choices that led me there.

Well written, thought provoking and story telling that balanced the past and present stories with equal import and substance. This is quite a feat to maintain two story lines with equal weight, especially in a debut from such a young author, but Ms. Hooper does it remarkably well. It’s impossible not to wonder what would have been different had Connie stayed – admitting to the affair and everything else. When many characters in a story ( such as this one), are flawed, make undesirable choices -- disturbing choices --( Emily was not the only character in this Without giving away the ending, it is not one of those books where everything at the end is neatly tied up in bows, but rather makes the reader think of what will happen to the characters in the future. I loved this book and strongly recommend it to anyone.This book had my attention the whole way, but I still found the ending less than satisfying. It was still an interesting story. Emily does not have a close relationship with her mother. How do you think her upbringing shapes her character and relationships? How does it influence the way she mothers Claire? Additional thanks to: Emily Peska, Caitlin Stegemoller, Sam Woolf, Charly Clive, Ellie White, Ellen Robertson, Kate Phillips, Ed Davis, Ciarán Owens, Jonathan Schey, Daniel Raggett, Jason Phipps and Charlotte Ritchie It's hard to really hate a character when they're acting in very human ways, and I found myself agreeing and getting angry when Emily began to resent her mother-in-law's dependence on her and her husband as caregivers. But as she starts to use this anger to justify cruel words and actions, I liked her less.

understand -- that her choices (readers will be reactivated), were driven in the same way a disease takes over a person- splits them in half? Even if it did mean not continuing her education as originally planned, Emily Morris marries her young love Drew. She has a happy life with Drew. That is, until circumstances change drastically. Drew’s business fails and his mother becomes chronically ill. Emily throws herself into her work as pressures mount on this married couple. Emily can see no way out of the life and difficulties. And then a twist of fate, provides a way out. Sharon Horgan (Executive Producer at Merman) says: “It has been so great to bring Kim Hooper’s emotionally and morally complex novel to life via a drama podcast. Daniella’s adaptation and direction, along with a brilliant cast led by Rosamund and Hugh, bring you right into the mind of Connie and her battle with truth and lies. This is a series that will challenge your prejudices and invite you to ask, what would you do if you had the opportunity to run away?”

First Chapter

Emily Morris uses 9/11 to fake her own death and run away to start a new life in California as Connie Prynne. Fourteen years later, now with a teenage daughter by her side, Connie is diagnosed with breast cancer. She will be forced to confront her past so that her daughter will not be left on her own if she does not survive. She must decide how to explain her lies, her secrets, her selfish decisions – and ultimately her ‘widowed’ husband. Everything she thought she had fled from when she pretended to die in New York.