By My Side By Alice Peterson

[amazon_link id=”1782061819″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’By My Side’ is the latest book by Alice Peterson.

Cass Brooks loves her job, her boyfriend Sean, her life. Until, leaving home one morning, distracted and hungover, she steps into the path of a lorry. When she wakes up, she can’t walk. And suddenly all her hopes and dreams, the plans she had made with Sean, the future she thought she would have had now seem to be out of her reach. But then fate intervenes again and Cass meets Ticket, a loyal golden Labrador who will never leave her side. And on a flight to Colarado, she sits next to Charlie who believes he can show her a life full of possibilities, if only she will let him. But Cass wants her life back the way it was and Charlie knows this cannot be. Yet a future beckons all the same.

‘By My Side’ is the first book that I have read by Alice Peterson and what a beautifully written and enchanting story it was. Told from the perspective of Cass, we meet her on the day of the accident that changed her life. With a lust of life, she sees herself with a successful career in medicine and her Irish boyfriend, Sean by her side. But following her accident she finds herself in a wheelchair, without her independence and now living at home with her parents. But, Cass being the wonderfully strong independent young woman that she is, doesn’t wallow in self-pity for long and wants to reclaim her life and independence back, and with the aid of her new friend Ticket, Cass starts her new adventure and more importantly a new life.

This story has got to be one of the nicest stories that I have read this year. A enthralling story of courage, inspiration and love. I was in awe of Cass as she battled with new life, how she accepted her new found disability and took on each challenge with both hands. I thoroughly admired her and thought she was one of the most aspirational characters, I have had the joy of reading in recent times. Leaving her old life behind, she embraces new friendships and one of these friendships is with a young golden Labrador Ticket, who becomes her helper and most importantly her new best friend, he helps her adapt to her life and helps overcome some of the everyday tasks that we take for granted. With the unique connection and affection that they have for one another, we see that it is true what they say, that a dog is really a woman’s best friend. Other people that particularly stood out was Dom and Guy, who met Cass whilst in hospital and together they create a strong bond and a mutual understanding and Charlie, a man who Cass falls in love with and helps her to find her way in life. We join Cass as she adjusts to her life, trying not to blend into the background and not to let her disability hold her back with life and love.

Filled with hope, optimism and a beautiful strength of character, ‘By My Side’ is a remarkable story that will make you appreciate the simple things in life and how easy it is to take things for granted. The story also highlights, just how unprepared and how narrow-minded some people can be with disabilities and the story captures these scenes regularly with an element of humour that does make for light hearted reading but it also does hit hard, how simple days out can be a challenge. Captivating from the start, the story brings to light two amazing charities. Canine Partners and Back Up, that both help people with disabilities, so they can never feel left behind and to always have hope and a companion in life.

With an beautifully illustrated cover of a girl with her dog, this book is a story that will have you smiling and crying through the heartbreak, the pain and the determination, ‘By My Side’ is a poignant tale that I urge everyone to read.

You can pre-order [amazon_link id=”1782061819″ target=”_blank” ]By My Side from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops 18th July 2013.