brother. do. you. love. me.
- Downloads：7837
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-30 00:53:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Manni Coe
- ISBN：1915068053
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
brother。 do。 you。 love。 me。 is the story of two brothers and their extraordinary journey of resilience and repair。 Reuben， aged 38， had been living in a home providing specialised care for adults with learning disabilities。 For months he had been non-verbal， cut off from everyone he loved。 In despair， he sent his older brother a text message: ‘brother。 do。 you。 love。 me。’ Immediately， Manni left his home in Spain and took Reuben out of care and moved them to a cottage in the countryside。 In the stillness of winter， they began a simple routine of walking， inching a little further each day， from the front drive to the village then into the woods and fields。 In the evening， Reuben would take out his felt-tip pens and draw， pouring colourful images of his favourite characters from films and books onto the page。 And as the slow months turned towards spring， on a journey full of frustration and pain， joy and revelation， Reuben and Manni discovered that it is never too late to rebuild the bonds of brotherhood。 brother。 do。 you。 love。 me。 is a dazzling story of hope， resilience and repair for our troubled times。 It explores just how far we’re capable of going to help the ones we love， and asks how – as individuals and a community – we can all take better care of each other。
Reviews
Kellie
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One of the the most heartwarming books I have ever read。
Merida Pearce
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This book oozes love from every page。 Not the idyllic romance novel type love， but an intensely human form of love。 It consumes you as you read and leaves you feeling as though you’ve known both brothers their whole lives。 This book is honest， poignant and thoroughly enjoyable。 Everyone should read it。
Simon Pressinger
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It's been an emotional rollercoaster， reading this。 A beautiful story told by Manni Coe， with illustrations by his brother Reuben， who has Downs' syndrome。 This is their story and I'll be recommending it as much as I can from now on。I've been following Little Toller Books for a few years。 This mad independent publisher decided to open a bookshop in Dorset during the pandemic， and has made a success of it， in spite of all the obvious challenges and difficulties faced by other indie booksellers。Ma It's been an emotional rollercoaster， reading this。 A beautiful story told by Manni Coe， with illustrations by his brother Reuben， who has Downs' syndrome。 This is their story and I'll be recommending it as much as I can from now on。I've been following Little Toller Books for a few years。 This mad independent publisher decided to open a bookshop in Dorset during the pandemic， and has made a success of it， in spite of all the obvious challenges and difficulties faced by other indie booksellers。Manni and Reuben's story is very much a pandemic story too。 When the UK went into lockdown， Reuben started to become a shadow of his former self。 Manni made the difficult decision to remove Reuben from the care home he was staying at， against professional advice， and to return him to the family home， to a cottage in a valley in Dorset。 One of the big questions was what was now best for Reuben's needs （in fact， what were his needs？）， if not Portland Place， which had clearly sapped out the life from a man who used to be so full of it。 This book really gets under your skin， and I mean in a good， meaningful way。 Manni， as a man who loves his brother and calls him 'home'， is no saint when it comes to caring for people with Downs syndrome， but he's a stalwart and Reuben's lucky to have him。 It's a warts-and-all account of their many adventures and the nature of their relationship as brothers and as men with independent needs and desires。 Reuben's many felt-tip pen drawings scattered throughout the book show a part of the everydayness of being in his company， and the way he likes to communicate and show you the things and the people he likes and loves。 It's a beautiful book in many， many ways and I just loved it。 。。。more
Helen
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This is such a beautiful book！ Manni and Reuben share so much of their personal journey， it is a privilege to be allowed into their lives and share in their story。 Because I too， have a sibling with Down syndrome I could see myself in Manni’s words。 Every page seemed to offer me comfort and validation of my own experiences。 This book also showcases the systemic oppression of people with disabilities， which despite being the world’s largest minority group still has to fight for recognition。 Manni This is such a beautiful book！ Manni and Reuben share so much of their personal journey， it is a privilege to be allowed into their lives and share in their story。 Because I too， have a sibling with Down syndrome I could see myself in Manni’s words。 Every page seemed to offer me comfort and validation of my own experiences。 This book also showcases the systemic oppression of people with disabilities， which despite being the world’s largest minority group still has to fight for recognition。 Manni is so respectful when writing about his brother and in including Reuben as a contributor to their book。 This book is a great story， well done and a pleasure to read。 。。。more
Jason
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I have to admit that I was unsure about reading this， on social media I have watched the book launch and seen clips from the book tour， I've watched Reuben go from being quiet and shy to a Bonafide blooming rock star， walking out on stage with his hand in the air and the crowds going wild。。。I was worried I wouldn't be strong enough to witness what this man had been through to get to that rock star status。 But I manned up， gave it a read and wow！ what an amazing book this is， I've gone through so I have to admit that I was unsure about reading this， on social media I have watched the book launch and seen clips from the book tour， I've watched Reuben go from being quiet and shy to a Bonafide blooming rock star， walking out on stage with his hand in the air and the crowds going wild。。。I was worried I wouldn't be strong enough to witness what this man had been through to get to that rock star status。 But I manned up， gave it a read and wow！ what an amazing book this is， I've gone through so many emotions because of these pages， I've felt the rage for what Reuben has gone through， I was overwhelmed by the love between these two brothers， it has made me face prejudices that I didn't know I had， and in the last few pages I couldn't fight it anymore， my eyes got slightly damp （but that could have been a spot of rain localised in the area of my face）。The story here starts off with Manni getting a text from his brother from isolation （COVID era） in his bedroom at a care home， a devastating call for help， the end result of which is a rescue of Reuben who moves in with Manni。 Manni shares with us what his brother was like before his time in the home， a vibrant young man with a wicked sense of humour and a very independent person， the man he rescued was a shell of that person， unable to even speak or feed himself。 Manni pushes himself beyond his limits to try and find the missing Reuben， he shares the high moments no matter how small， those little glimpses of the real Reuben are enough to keep him going and he shares the low moments， the tears of frustration and the embarrassment he feels when snapping at Reuben。。。this truly is a no holds barred memoir。Manni and Reuben are lucky that they have managed to find some lovely people to be their support network and it is through them that they look to Reuben's future， there is a place that sounds ideal but there is so much to be done before that can be realised。 One aspect of the book I was impressed with is how well Manni controlled himself over the treatment in the care home， he was understanding that the carers were being pushed too far and were unable to offer the care that was needed， I would have lost it completely with them。 Another interesting part is I once lived in Thatcham and it had me wondering if we ever crossed paths。This isn't just a book written by Manni， Reuben has also put his mark on it， he loves artwork and has filled many pages with wonderful drawings of Aslan， Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams。 You can sense some kind of aura around him， whoever he meets always find themselves liking him and wanting to help and the stories that have been shared about the people he met brought a massive grin to my face every time。 He is one of the rare people you can adore even from the page。This is one of those unique books that draws you in， breaks you down and then lifts you up at the end so that you end up feeling full。。。you then spend the rest of the time sharing this book with everybody you know so you can experience it all again through them。。。。so get a copy of this book and share your thoughts with me。 （I mean a literal mind meld not your opinions）。One of the best books I've ever read and one that will stick in my head for a long time to come。Blog review （and a video）: https://felcherman。wordpress。com/2022。。。 。。。more
Elspeth
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Two brothers， Manni and Reuben， separated by hundreds of miles and the pandemic， until Reuben sends a plea for help to Manni who realises that Reuben is drowning in a sea of loneliness。 Manni drops everything to rescue his brother from his sheltered accommodation and together they move into the old family home， this book is the story that follows this rescue and the two brothers journey back to finding Reuben。 Such heartbreak， joy and realism fills these pages， such unending brotherly love。 It i Two brothers， Manni and Reuben， separated by hundreds of miles and the pandemic， until Reuben sends a plea for help to Manni who realises that Reuben is drowning in a sea of loneliness。 Manni drops everything to rescue his brother from his sheltered accommodation and together they move into the old family home， this book is the story that follows this rescue and the two brothers journey back to finding Reuben。 Such heartbreak， joy and realism fills these pages， such unending brotherly love。 It is a book filled with healing and one that cannot fail to touch your heart。 Beautiful and honest throughout。 。。。more
Alya Pozdnyakova
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Such a wonderful book。 I don’t have siblings and I’m not close with my family， but for me this book was about determination and care。
Sally Lines
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Excellent
Evelyn
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This book describes the journey of a gay man and his younger brother， who has Downs Syndrome， from the pit of despair when a care home fails the brother and leaves him depressed and uncommunicative， to a place where the brother is once again communicating with people， and capable of living in his own home and making his own choices and decisions。 The book is repetitive at times and drags a bit causing it to lose a star。
Aaron Myles
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Everyone should read this。
Libby Low
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What a book。 I read it because it's the Blackwell's Book of the Month and I felt I needed to do some research， and I'm so glad I did。 An absolutely gorgeous story of two brothers learning how best to help and care for each other - and themselves too。 Rueben's light shines through the pages of the book as you read about walking the Camino Trail to performing his Friday Night Musicals， and I found my heart really breaking for him as he struggled to leave the mindset that isolation and the pandemic What a book。 I read it because it's the Blackwell's Book of the Month and I felt I needed to do some research， and I'm so glad I did。 An absolutely gorgeous story of two brothers learning how best to help and care for each other - and themselves too。 Rueben's light shines through the pages of the book as you read about walking the Camino Trail to performing his Friday Night Musicals， and I found my heart really breaking for him as he struggled to leave the mindset that isolation and the pandemic had left him in。 I admire Manni's honesty too - it's never easy to admit being in the wrong， or acting rashly in the moment， a harsh tone that you will later regret， despite how inevitable it is （we're all human）。 But he owns these moments， acknowledges that they happen， and moves on。 His story is one of amazing resilience， and the purest form of love there is， no matter how hard this sometimes is。 I'm sure this book will be picking up countless awards over the next year （and rightly so！） and I implore everyone to read this book and to learn to see the world through the eyes of Reuben and his loved ones。 。。。more
Liz
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I loved this book for many reasons， the story of rescue and recovery， of two way nurturing and care。 My son has Down’s syndrome and my mum spent the pandemic lockdown isolated from family in a care home， her dementia worsening。 So whilst this is a story of siblings， so much of it was very relatable to me。 Because it felt so familiar and very close to home， this made it a challenging emotional read for me personally。 It was beautifully told… Description of every day life， little things that built I loved this book for many reasons， the story of rescue and recovery， of two way nurturing and care。 My son has Down’s syndrome and my mum spent the pandemic lockdown isolated from family in a care home， her dementia worsening。 So whilst this is a story of siblings， so much of it was very relatable to me。 Because it felt so familiar and very close to home， this made it a challenging emotional read for me personally。 It was beautifully told… Description of every day life， little things that built to recovery， interspersed with narrative and reflection about the past and how the brothers had got the place they’re at。 And though it all beautiful illustrations， Reuben’s illustrative voice appearing amongst Manni’s written reflections。 Would hope it gets nominated for a prize or two… Look forward to seeing who snaps up the film rights… A film is surely begging to be made… 。。。more
Megan
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