This Is How We Are Human

Overview

When the mother of an autistic young man hires a call girl to make him happy, three lives collide in unexpected and moving ways ... changing everything. A devastatingly beautiful, rich and thought-provoking novel that will warm your heart.

Sebastian James Murphy is twenty years, six months and two days old. He loves swimming, fried eggs and Billy Ocean. Sebastian is autistic. And lonely. Veronica wants her son Sebastian to be happy ... she wants the world to accept him for who he is. She is also thinking about paying a professional to give him what he desperately wants.

Violetta is a high-class escort, who steps out into the night thinking only of money. Of her nursing degree. Paying for her dad’s care. Getting through the dark.

When these three lives collide – intertwine in unexpected ways – everything changes. For everyone.

A topical and moving drama about a mother’s love for her son, about getting it wrong when we think we know what’s best, about the lengths we go to care for family ... to survive ... This Is How We Are Human is a searching, rich and thought-provoking novel with an emotional core that will warm and break your heart.

Reviews

"Louise Beech has such a natural talent for writing beautifully human stories that are both heart-breaking and heart-warming. This Is How We Are Human speaks right to the heart, exploring a mother’s love for her son and the things people do to care for their families." —CultureFly

Author Biography

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. The follow-up, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both of her previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely reviewed, critically acclaimed, and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. Louise lives with her husband on the outskirts of Hull, and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.