The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff

I picked up The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff cheaply in Sainsbury’s. The blurb on the back sounded interesting and I’m all in favour of buying books cheaply.

The Days I Loved You Most is an epic love story stretching from 1941 to 2002. In the summer of 1941, on New England shores, childhood friends Joseph and Evelyn fall in love. Their love is enduring and all-encompassing, although not without its ups and downs. In their late 70s, they still can’t bear to be apart.

In 2001, in the house where Joseph grew up and where they brought up their own three children, they gather their family together to give them some devastating news. Evelyn has been diagnosed with an incurable condition and is deteriorating faster than expected. She doesn’t want to become a burden and she doesn’t want to reach the stage where she doesn’t recognise her own family. So, in a year, she plans to take her own life. And Joseph, who cannot bear to be apart from her, will take his own life too.

Joseph and Evelyn want one final year of love and fun with their children and grandchildren and to fulfil some of their dreams. But how can their children let them go ahead with it?

The Days I Loved You Most skips between 2001 and 2002 and years in the family’s history – going right back to 1941 when Joseph and Evelyn met, through their early years together and their life with small children and teenagers. The chapters are all in the first person – mainly from either Evelyn or Joseph, but some from their children.

This is a beautiful story, which is beautifully written. But, as you can imagine, it is not an easy read. I cried several times during the book and the ending absolutely broke me.

If you like a love story, a story about family or a tearjerker, you will love The Days I Loved You Most. But if you don’t like reading about death and grief and prefer your reading a bit lighter, it is probably one to avoid!