You're Not You - Softcover

Wildgen, Michelle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312369522 ISBN 13: 9780312369521

Publisher: Picador, 2007

Synopsis

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by George C. Wolfe, produced by Denise Di Novi and starring Hilary Swank, Josh Duhamel and Emmy Rossum

Bec is adrift. It's the summer before her junior year in college. She's sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS.

As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins to absorb Kate's sophistication and her sensuality, cooking for her, sharing her secrets, and gradually beginning to live her own life with a boldness informed by Kate's influence. The more intense her commitment to Kate, the further Bec strays from the complacency of her college life. And when Kate's marriage veers into dangerous territory, Bec will have to choose between the values of her old life and the allure of an entirely new one.

About this title

Review:

"Michelle Wildgen writes with a fresh, appealing honesty and has done a marvelous job of capturing that youthful moment in our lives when we are like sponges ready to soak up someone else's character, taste, and charm." --Francine Prose, People (four stars, Critic's Choice)

"A complex and satisfying dish: a story of intimate strangers and their impact on each other's lives." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"A fresh, accomplished first novel . . . tackles challenging material with honesty and a clear eye." --Kirkus Reviews

"A deeply sensual book." --The Believer

"Wildgen's debut showcases the talent that won her inclusion in Best New American Voices 2004, and should take her further still." --Publishers Weekly

Synopsis:

College student Bec is self conscious of her aimless life: she has fallen into an affair with a married professor and a major she has no interest in. In a half hearted effort to redeem herself, she answers an ad for a caregiver and finds herself employed by Kate, a wealthy, happily married woman with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Their relationship develops into a surprising intimacy, and as she observes the implacable changes in Kate her own life takes shape in ways she didn't anticipate. Vibrant and sensuous, this is a fiercely unsentimental yet poignant novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0312369522
• ISBN 13: 9780312369521
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288