Book Review: Safe With Me

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This is a book review of the novel, Safe With Me, by K.L. Slater.

This book begins when Hannah hears a scream and the screeching of car brakes. She runs outside to see that her 12-year-old daughter Emily has been hit by a car while riding her bike. 

Emily’s mouth is open; her eyes are closed. She is rushed to the hospital. 

Hannah waits and waits for news. Finally, the doctor comes to tell her that Emily is brain-dead and is being kept alive on a ventilator.

This is so hard for Hannah to process. She had conceived Emily via a sperm donor because she wanted a child more than she wanted a partner.

If only she’d been wearing her bike helmet, she tells the doctor. He says it wouldn’t have made a difference. The impact was too severe.

Reeling with Grief:

Hannah is reeling with grief and can barely comprehend what he is saying next. “Please, forgive me, but I need to ask…is your daughter an organ donor?”

She has just heard that she has lost all that is important to her in life, and now they want to know about her organs? 

But she realizes that this is what her daughter would want. And she signs the papers. 

The other protagonist in this novel is Olivia. Olivia is married to James, an older man. And they have one daughter, Maddie. And she is going to die if she doesn’t get a liver. Soon.

While Hannah is struggling with losing her daughter, Olivia is elated at the news that perhaps the doctor has found a liver that will save her own child. 

Emily’s liver saves Maddie’s life. 

Maddie can now lead a somewhat normal life. She can go to school, make friends, and actually go places with them. She will not have to be in the hospital more often than not. 

Olivia is beside herself with happiness. Except for one problem. There is James, the man she married and was so in love with, who, shortly after they married nearly 20 years ago, began to hurt her. Both physically and mentally.

He tells her this is what his parents did to him. So she tries to show compassion, for part of her does love him.

Before Maddie became sick, she had planned to leave him and take Maddie with her. She had been saving money he didn’t know about. He seems to watch her every move, so she is always on guard. 

Then, when Maddie became sick, she knew that without James’ money and power, she would have to postpone her plans. Indefinitely. 

You Can’t Change Your Abuser:

Women who are abused always think they can change their abuser. And every time the abuser comes to them, head hanging in guilt, they believe that their relationship has turned a vital corner. And that he has seen the error in his ways, and that it will now stop. 

But it never stops.

This book is about two women on different ends of the spectrum. Hannah, who is self-sufficient and has her own hair salon. And Olivia, who married young and became trapped in her marriage.

It is about women and friendship, and the ways men often try to isolate their partners to maintain complete control. 

It‘s about hoping beyond hope that things will change, though secretly you know they won’t, no matter what you do. 

It is about what you would do for your child. What would you sacrifice? Even if that sacrifice is your own life.

About the Author:

I like to write every day if possible because that’s the best way to keep the story fresh and real in my mind. I can only work in silence (usually possible, thanks to my noise-cancelling AirPods!). But once I have a peaceful backdrop, I can, and do, work virtually anywhere.

In my spare time, I love walking, particularly on the North Yorkshire coast. I read and listen to audiobooks across all genres, and enjoy eating out and holidaying, both in the UK and abroad. I live in a small Nottinghamshire village with my husband.