Title: Live Your Life: My story of living and loving Nick Cordero
By: Amanda Kloots
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 336
Release Date: June 15th, 2021
Publisher: Harper
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:
In the early spring of 2020, Broadway star and Tony Award nominee Nick Cordero was hospitalized for what he and his wife, Amanda Kloots, believed was a severe case of pneumonia. Entering Cedars-Sinai, there was no indication that Nick—a young man in the prime of life with no pre-existing conditions—would never return home. Diagnosed with Covid-19, this rising star—who only a few days earlier was the picture of health—soon deteriorated. Suffering a series of complications – minor heart attacks, an amputation, sepsis—he was kept alive for weeks, hooked to a ventilator, bypass machines, dialysis, and a specialized heart-lung bypass machine.
Staying strong for Nick and their infant son, Elvis, Amanda shared their journey on social media, documenting Nick’s condition and the risks of Covid-19 for all ages. Her updates quickly made an impact, inspiring millions of followers around the globe who offered positive thoughts and virtual prayers, and danced each day to Nick’s hit song Live Your Life. When Nick passed away after 94 grueling days in the ICU, the world grieved for Amanda and her family’s devastating loss.
Live Your Life is her and Nick’s story: of their love and fairy-tale marriage, of the disease that quickly upended it, of the fight for Nick’s survival—those sudden tragic months that permanently changed her world and ours—of her grief and how she came to terms with his death, of keeping Nick’s memory alive for Elvis and the world. Offering courage and inspiration to anyone coping with overwhelming loss and written with her sister Anna Kloots who was with her every step of this journey, Amanda’s story is a thoughtful and poignant reflection on love, hope, motherhood, and the power of community in times of hardship. In sharing her experience, she shows us that, through positivity and community, even the most impossible circumstances can be endured.
Review:
Amanda and Nick lived a wonderful life before covid. Amanda was pregnant with their first child, one that they had been waiting on for a long time. Nick was a Broadway star ready to leave his mark on the Hollywood world. Then the pandemic hit and their lives turned upside down.
I seem to remember hearing about this story a year ago, when the world was shocked that covid could take someone so young and seemingly healthy. He was a Broadway star with the whole world in front of him, but covid doesn't discriminate and after a long battle over several months, he was gone.
It was hard to read Amanda's story. She was a new mom, in a new city, trying to raise their son while dealing with lockdowns and restrictions at the hospital. Trying to stay strong for Nick, but giving her son the attention and normalcy that he needed. The one thing that really struck me, was the amount of support Amanda had. No matter what she needed, someone was there to pick up the pieces.
The amount of strength Amanda needed to get through these tough times was incredible, and even if she couldn't muster it herself, she could pull it from friends and family. I couldn't imagine losing my husband to covid and am blessed that my family was spared, but my heart goes out to Amanda and her family.
This was a heartbreaking read, but wonderful at the same time. Bring the tissue.
This book came to me recommended by Read Rant Rock & Roll. Check out their review here.
Wow, this really does sound like a heartbreaking read and I imagine a hard one for her to write so soon after her husband's death. Glad to know she had so much support. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteIt really got me right in the feels. Thanks for stopping by.
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