Before I Saw You

Book excerpt: “A charming page-turner” (Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop) for fans of Close Enough to Touch and Me Before You about two patients who fall in love as they recover from traumatic injuries in the same hospital ward…all without seeing each other. Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they’ve never seen each other face-to-face. After being in devastating accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis’s Hospital. Although they don’t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie’s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make Alice laugh as hard as Alfie does, and Alfie feels like he’s finally found a true confidante in Alice. Between their late night talks and inside jokes, something more than friendship begins to slowly blossom between them. But as their conditions improve and the end of their stay draws closer, Alfie and Alice are forced to decide whether it’s worth continuing a relationship with someone who’s seen all of the worst parts of you, but never seen your actual face. “Equally humorous and tender, this tale of triumph over adversity is a moving celebration of the bravery it takes to show oneself to another” (Publishers Weekly).