People Who Knew Me

Product Information

Emily Morris married her college sweetheart but the demands of adulthood soon became such an albatross on their marriage that Emily soon sought comfort in the arms of another. Emily found herself pregnant and caught up between two men when Sept. 11 happened. Emily used the event as a catalyst for a rebirth. She ran from New York City and reinvented herself in California as Connie Prynne. 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 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? I 'dig' this Southern California author. ( if she is coming to the Bay Area in June - hint hint- for the Bay Area Book Festival .. I'd love to hear her speak on this book)

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And the fact that Hooper sets this all up around a national tragedy that is still so raw in people's memories is a brave choice. Her retelling of that day hit me hard. There was none of the usual traffic leading to the Holland Tunnel. We drove right in. I closed my eyes, like I used to as a kid, making wishes in the darkness. As I said good-bye to New York, my only wish was for everyone I left behind to forget me. Starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie, Kyle Soller, Isabella Sermon and Alfred Enoch. The first audio drama from the makers of Bad Sisters, People Who Knew Me is a 10-part series, written and directed by Daniella Isaacs, adapted from the book by Kim Hooper.Episode 1 of People Who Knew Me will be available on first BBC Sounds on 23 May, with episode 2 dropping on the 25 May. New episodes will drop twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the entire series will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from Monday 26 June. 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’s amid terrible tragedy that she finds her freedom, as she leaves New York City to start a new life. It’s not easy, but Emily---now Connie Prynne —forges a new happily-ever-after in California. But when a life-threatening diagnosis upends her life, she is forced to rethink her life for the good of her thirteen-year-old daughter. Emily Morris got her happily-ever-after earlier than most. Married at a young age to a man she loved passionately, she was building the life she always wanted. But when enormous stress threatened her marriage, Emily made some rash decisions. That’s when she fell in love with someone else. That’s when she got pregnant. 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. Emily's character bothers me. She blames her mother-in-laws failing health for the issues with her husband. She is not brave enough to tell her husband what she wants, what she needs from him.I can't fault her for it. I have no clue how I would feel if I were going through it, and it makes for an amazing story.

Do you think the failure of Emily and Drew’s marriage is due to innate incompatibilities or life circumstances? Would they have stayed together if Drew’s mother had not fallen ill? Hooper says in her dedication, "This book is for all those people -- cowardly and courageous -- who dare to imagine leaving it all behind." Told in two timelines the reader learns about circumstances that led to the drastic choice Emily made and about her current life as Connie. Her daughter Claire has no idea of the changes she has made in her life. Newark Airport, please,” I said. He didn’t respond, just nodded and navigated his way to the Henry Hudson Parkway, my road out of everything.

Reviews

It’s not too shabby at the moment. There have always been great films with fierce, full-on, female characters who were “too much”. Think about Bette Davis’s roles or John Cassavetes’s A Woman Under the Influence. I played journalist Marie Colvin in A Private War, who was an amazingly complicated figure to put on screen. Now television has also embraced outspoken women who don’t conform to traditional expectations of femininity – and with those characters come interesting opportunities for actresses.

Your sons speak fluent Mandarin and your whole family are fans of Chinese culture. Why the fascination?

Podcast

You also narrate documentary podcast Mother, Neighbor, Russian Spy , about deep-cover Russian spies in 00s America. That’s another story of lies and fake identities… Connie's character makes me sad. Connie has spent the last 14 years raising and protecting Claire from her past, only inviting few people into her life so that she does not make connections she may have to break again one day, and doesn't want to disappoint more people. Connie just wants to be the best mother possible; give Claire everything she never had and more.

It’s impossible not to wonder what would have been different had Connie stayed – admitting to the affair and everything else.Dylan Haskins (Commissioning Editor (Podcasts) for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds) says: “Sharon Horgan has been the creative genius behind some of the best TV dramas of recent years – Bad Sisters, Catastrophe, Motherland – and now she, along with the Merman/Mermade team and Daniella, are turning their hands to audio drama for the first time. People Who Knew Me is an emotionally compelling drama with a sensational cast led by Rosamund Pike. It’s fitting that this podcast will be released by the BBC, which has been pioneering in audio drama for just shy of a century.” 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. In California, Connie vows to keep people at arm’s length. How does she succeed at this? How does she fail, in spite of herself? But this novel’s obviously about more than that. We’re forced to ponder whether running is always the best option. Is it better to stay and confront our problems? People Who Knew Me was commissioned by Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Editor (Podcasts) for BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sounds