You and Me and Us: A Novel

Favorite Quotes:

Puppies. Rainbows. Kittens. Unicorns. Ice cream. I cycle through the list of things that should make me smile, just thinking about them. If I can fill my head with enough happy thoughts, maybe the sad ones will go away.

“Here’s to cheating, lying, stealing and drinking,” Tommy says, catching us all off guard. “Tommy.” I look over at Abigail and then back to him. “It’s okay,” he says, before continuing, “‘If you’re going to cheat, cheat death.’” He turns slightly in his chair to face Jill. “‘If you’re going to lie, lie for a friend.’” He turns back toward me, his eyes locking onto mine. “If you’re going to steal, steal a heart.” His gaze drifts over to Abigail, who meets his stare. show more “If you’re going to drink, drink with me.”

Like a living page of the “stars are just like us” magazine spread, Monica Whistler is standing in front of me, a prescription bag in her hand. If there is any justice in the world, I hope it’s for herpes.

I remember reading something once— if you have a boy, you only have to worry about one penis. If you have a girl, you have to worry about all the penises.

The house feels like a museum, each room an exhibit, a memory of us.

My Review:

This poignantly written and well-crafted book hit all the feels and even managed to astound me with the realization that this was the author’s debut. Alison Hammer has found her niche as she writes with a deft hand. Her words were cleverly arranged and packed an emotive punch that managed to squeeze my cold heart, stung my eyes, and wedged hot rocks in my throat several times. She also put a smirk on my face and had me grinding my teeth and stamping my little foot in irritation with the obnoxious behaviors and selfishness of the mother and daughter characters until their “aha moments” slapped them briskly in their matching faces. And they were in dire need of such stunning alterations, and being stubborn, they required repeated applications to chisel away at their thoughtless rigidity and blossom into softer and more pleasantly humanized amalgamations of themselves.

Although I initially had my doubts about their redeemability, I came to admire and even adore Ms. Hammer’s skill and agility with her characters’ development, which was beyond insightful and was richly perceptive and profoundly observant, with sensitive handling and thoughtful touches tucked in that added additional depth to the reading experience. This talented wordsmith is definitely one to watch and has been added to my list. show less

When someone you love is given a terminal diagnosis, your whole world comes crashing down around you. The grief and despair and anger threaten to overwhelm. And in perhaps an ironic cruelty, you and the person living with the diagnosis have to do just that: live. How do you go about your daily business with this threat hanging over you? Can life still focus on life until there's no choice but to face inevitable death? What does that look like? In Alison Hammer's debut novel, You and Me and Us, she tackles all of these questions and more when Tommy Whistler, beloved partner, adored father, gentle psychiatrist, and the person who keeps their small family firmly together and ticking, is given a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.

Alexis Gold show more co-owns an advertising company. She has been scrambling to prove that motherhood and family won't impact her career since long before she started her own company. Luckily, her understanding and supportive partner Tommy, is an amazing dad and he has forever picked up the slack when Alexis is running late or misses another of their daughter's events. Unfortunately this has led to an estrangement between Alexis and CeCe, as the young teenager is certain that she cannot count on coming before her mother's work. CeCe and Tommy's bond though, is incredibly close and loving. And while Tommy may sometimes disapprove of Alexis' unchecked workaholic tendencies, he also understands them and knows that she still loves him and CeCe with all her heart. So when Tommy tells first Alexis and then CeCe that he's been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer they are devastated. Having watched his mother die of cancer after being diminished by treatments, he has chosen the hard option of not fighting for more time, knowing as he does that his outcome cannot, and will not, change. What he does want is quality of life over quantity and that means one last summer in Destin, Florida where he grew up and Alexis spent her summers as a child. It is a summer that will change Alexis and CeCe and reshape their family in ways they don't want to imagine but it will also provide them memories of a lifetime.

When you read this book, you will need more than a fistful of tissues as Hammer deftly weaves the sadness of an impending loss of such magnitude with the making of special memories and some spectacularly macabre humor from Tommy. She doesn't detail Tommy's physical decline as much as she tracks it in Alexis and CeCe's reactions to him, their startled recognition in the ways he's changed, and in the deeply felt way they acknowledge the unimaginable truth of a future coming at them faster than they want. Alexis and Tommy's past slips into their present, both their intangible feelings about things (Alexis' prejudice against marriage and Tommy's belief that he doesn't want his girls to remember him sick and dying as he remembers his mother) and in the physical person of Tommy's ex-wife, an actress filming a tv show in Destin. CeCe is well drawn as a young teenager alternately living her life and facing the death of her adored dad. She both continues to act normally and to push boundaries even as she seeks the moments she needs to grieve. Tommy himself is a thoughtful and understanding character and he is mainly seen through the eyes of Alexis and CeCe although one of the chapters' narration is from his point of view. The rest of the novel slips between Alexis and CeCe's first person narratives, allowing the reader see both of them cycle through every emotion they feel not only for the situation they are facing but also as they try to start to come together as mother and daughter. They are selfish and angry and hurt and they have years' worth of disappointments to overcome but at heart, they not only come together through their shared love of Tommy, but also through their love for each other. Mistakes are made and hearts are certainly broken over the course of this novel but priorities shift and love shines through in this warm, tear-jerking story of loss and love, the life we live, and the people who connect us forever. show less

Fair warning... keep a box of Kleenex near you when you get toward the end. There's a heart-wrenching scene that is written so well that I felt I was in the room with them experiencing the pain and love.
We know parents like Alexis who could be described as workaholics. She loves her only child, CeCe, but finds herself more comfortable at the job she worked so hard to build from the ground up. And her near-perfect partner, CeCe's dad, Tommy, makes it easy for Alexis to spend more time and energy on her job than on parenting. He's one of those dads's that every child wants: doting, funny, a good listener, and hey, he's CeCe's dad, which is usually the parent a teen girl doesn't clash with (compared to the volatile mother-daughter show more relationship during those teen years!)
But this story is about more than family dynamics. It tackles cancer, dying, regrets, hopes, friendship, and what we all hope for out of life - whether we are a teen stumbling like CeCe is, or a parent stumbling, as Alexis does.
It is a quick read that will take you to the gorgeous beaches of Destin Florida (love that area!) and into the heart of what is important in life. show less

Tommy’s world is upended when he has to tell his wife Alexis and daughter CeCe that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. For years, Alexis has been a workaholic and has typically tended to miss important events in the lives of her husband and child. 14-year-old CeCe doesn’t have a lot of affection for her mother because from her perspective, Alexis doesn’t prioritize her and therefore must not love her. The relationsip betwen mother and child is tumultuous at best, and Tommy has always been the glue that holds the family together. But Alexis and CeCe will have to learn how to manage their relationship when Tommy is no longer with them.

I knew that this one would be emotional going into it, and OH MAN it was. It wasn’t long show more ago that I lost someone important to me, and I was a little bit nervous about how I would handle certain aspects of this story. I teared up in multiple places, but overall I felt like it was cathartic for me. I was able to relate to things that I wasn’t necessarily expecting in the story, and I was also able to emotionally connect with the characters in a strong way.

That doesn’t mean that I love everything they did. Alexis and CeCe have a really difficult relationship, and it was hard to read at times. CeCe did not respect her mother at all for a time, and Alexis really didn’t pursue her daughter at all. She essentially left the parenting up to Tommy. Apparently I have stronger opinions about this than I realized, because when I had to put the book down for a few minutes, it was because of how Alexis and CeCe acted toward one another rather than how emotional some parts were. Most of the time, I felt more about their relationship (anger, frustration, sadness) than I did about the grief they were all experiencing.

But that’s just me. The anticipatory grief in this book is super, super well presented. It is so hard to watch someone go through a terminal illness physically, especially when the person used to be a thriving and healthy person in the prime of his or her life. The apprehensive moments where CeCe was nervous to be around her father were so accurate and well done, and the desperate moments when Alexis wanted to almost will Tommy to breathe and thrive were also very well done.

It’s a deeply emotional read, but also hopeful and full of happy, funny moments.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, William Morrow Books! show less

This book had a good premise and it did hold my interest but I do wish this would have been more of an emotional read. I think the main problem is I didn't feel any connection to the main characters and so I missed out on what could have been a good tearjerker. This was a nice distraction though from everything going on in the real world so for that reason I am thankful I read it.

Alexis Gold is always working and that means she sometimes misses out on important moments in her teenage daughter's life. Her husband, Tommy, is supportive of her career and maintains a good relationship with their daughter, CeCe. When Tommy receives a terminal cancer diagnosis he asks his wife and daughter to spend the summer with him in Destin, Florida. show more Alexis will have to figure out how to juggle her job while being there for Tommy just as he has always been there for her. Given Alexis and CeCe don't have the best mother-daughter relationship, knowing Tommy is the glue that holds their family together is making this situation even harder for them.

The story alternates between the perspectives of Alexis and CeCe. Their relationship is just as much a part of the story as their individual relationships with Tommy. I've read many books over the years that explore mother-daughter dynamics and unfortunately I didn't find there to be anything special or memorable with this one. We all have characters we gravitate towards and while they kinda fell flat in my eyes, that doesn't mean that will be the case for every reader. At the very least this story is yet another reminder life can change in an instant so value the things that are truly important. show less

Alexis does not have a good work/life balance, but she does not worry too much about her family because she knows her partner Tommy will be there for their daughter, CeCe. A terminal cancer diagnosis changes everything, unfortunately. Now, a few months of summer is what Alexis and CeCe have to not only savor their remaining time with Tommy, but also figure out how to move forward without him.

Alison Hammer’s debut novel is absolutely beautiful. Covering love, loss, and family, it is not an emotionally easy read, but it proves worth it. I enjoyed getting to know this broken family—and cried for them more than once. Their navigation of the challenges through something no one should have to face is not without hopeful and humorous show more moments, and by the end, I just felt glad to have experienced their story.

You and Me and Us is a book I definitely recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. show less

It is hard to believe that You and Me and Us is Alison Hammer’s debut novel. She skillfully weaves a myriad of emotions into one beautiful package as she draws her readers into this emotional story. We experience a full gamut of feelings including love, loss, anger, forgiveness, sadness, despair, and understanding.

Alexis Gold loves her family but devotes most of her time to work. Her partner, Tommy Whistler, works from home. CeCe, their fourteen-year-old daughter loves acting and has dreams of becoming a star. Life is not perfect, but Alexis and Tommy are happy and look forward to a lifetime together. This vision is shattered the day that Tommy tells her that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and that he wants to leave show more Atlanta to spend his remaining months at their summer home in Destin, Florida.

We learn early on about Tommy’s illness and know that this is not going to be a happy ever after ending. But we also get to know and feel how the special people in his life respond to him and to each other. This reader was concerned about how the friction between CeCe and her mother would play out at the end. Characters are well developed and the relationships between them are a big part of the overall picture.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reader’s edition from the publisher via LibraryThing. A positive review was not required, but I can and will sing my praises for this book. Any opinion expressed here is my own. show less