Review - Was This In The Plan?

Far from being a misery memoir, Was this in the Plan? Is a frank, open and no-holds-barred account of how a family was determined not just to survive but to thrive when the odds were against them. It will make you question your own attitude to life and how you choose to respond when unexpected events throw you off course.

My colleague, Stephanie Nimmo, gave me a gentle ribbing for using the line "spoiler alert - we're all going to die" in my talk. That's her line, she said, as she launched into her talk about how her family coped with grief.

How does anyone go through life, living with the knowledge that death is around the corner? Steph's book is a joyous and exasperating ride though the highs and lows of living with disabilities and surviving in the face of overwhelming odds.

It is a brilliant, knackering read, that left me in tears.