Patience by Victoria Scott

I’m so pleased to be part of the tour today for this gorgeous book. Thanks so much to Aria Fiction for the copy of the book and invitation to be part of the tour.

About the book

If you were offered the chance to be ‘normal’ would you take it? Do we even know what ‘normal’ is?

The Willow family have been through a lot together. Louise has devoted her life to her family and raising her disabled daughter, Patience. Pete now works abroad, determined to provide more, even if it means seeing less of those he loves. And Eliza, in the shadow of her sister, has a ‘perfect’ life in London, striving to live up to her mother’s high standards.

Meanwhile, Patience lives her life quietly, watching and judging the world while she’s trapped in her own body. She laughs, she cries, she knows what she wants, but she can’t ever communicate this to those who make the decisions for her. Patience only wants a voice, but this is impossible.

When the opportunity to put Patience into a new gene therapy trial to cure her Rett syndrome becomes available, opinions are divided, and the family is torn.

The stakes are high, and they face tough decisions in the hunt for a normal life. But is normal worth it? What do we even consider normal? Is Patience about to find out…?

My Review:

I absolutely loved this unique and very special book. Patience has Rett Syndrome and is a wheelchair user and non-verbal. The story is told from several perspectives, her mum’s, her sister’s, and Patience herself. I really loved the way Patience had a voice, and it gives us an insight into her personality and what life is like for her. I work with children with additional needs, and I’ve often seen how people will talk about them in front of them and how others treat them, and I think this aspect to the book is really thought-provoking, as well as thoroughly entertaining, as Patience has a brilliant personality. She’s a huge Take That fan, and she has a great relationship with her carers.

We get great insight into the lives and struggles of her parents, and her sister, but above all, this is a gorgeous and heartwarming story. The author has taken a sensitive and authentic approach to disability, and while giving us a real insight to the reality of it, has also shown us how truly special people with profound additional needs are, and how they can enhance the lives of everyone that knows them.

A gorgeous read, I enjoyed every page of it, and I know that this is a book that will stay in my heart for a long time.

My Rating:

About the author

Victoria Scott has been a journalist for more than two decades, working for a wide variety of outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Time Out, Doha News and the Telegraph. Alongside her love of telling real-life stories, she has also always written fiction, penning plays, stories and poems ever since she first worked out how to use her parents’ electric typewriter.

When she’s not writing, Victoria enjoys running incredibly slowly, singing loudly, baking badly and travelling the world extensively.

Victoria is a Faber Academy graduate. She has a degree in English from King’s College, London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from City University, London. She lives near London with her husband and two children, and works as a freelance journalist, media trainer and journalism tutor.

Follow Victoria:

Facebook: @VictoriaScottJournalist

Twitter: @Toryscott

Instagram: victoriascottauthor

Buy links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sGWywS

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3iwevtk

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2XTTCPc

bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/3ivPvSU

Waterstones: https://bit.ly/3bXpeLW

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com