The Story of You (42 page)

If you enjoyed
The Story of You
, why not try
How We Met
, another of Katy’s brilliant novels?

There are some people you can’t imagine life without.

What, at the end of it all, is really important?

Liv and her friends can’t imagine a life different from now: freedom, lifelong friendships, and dreams that are still within their reach.

Then, Liv dies.

For those left behind – Mia, Fraser, Anna, Norm and Melody – everything stops. Their lives and dreams are frozen in time.

In the years that follow, they decide to meet on Liv’s birthday to raise a toast and celebrate her life, even though none of them are living their own – not really. Time marches inexorably on, and yet without Liv, the lynchpin of the group, they are all flailing. Mia and Fraser are quietly falling apart because of the secret they share and, as truths are unearthed and their friendships are tested to the limit, they have to ask themselves – is it time to get on with the business of actually living?

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Well, this one was a beast! And without the skill, talent and, above all, patience of so many people, it definitely wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Huge thanks then go to my editor, Kim Young, who stuck with me, the book, and more moving deadlines than you could shake a stick at. Also to Lizzy Kremer, whose unwavering belief, support and creative input never cease to amaze me. Harriet Moore, the restructuring of this book was basically down to you and your belief in it truly kept me going when I was flailing. How can one so young be so clever?

I want to thank, as always, all the team at HarperCollins: Kate, Claire, Thalia, Heike (for yet another gorgeous cover), the Sales team, Art, Marketing and of course, the lovely Louise Swannell, plus anyone I’ve forgotten for all your hard work and creativity. Also, thank you to everyone at David Higham Associates.

This book was more research-heavy than any other book I have written and many people gave their time to help me make things authentic and factually correct (give or take poetic licence where appropriate). However,
very
special thanks go to Katie Wiblin, (a
real
psychiatric nurse) who was on the end of the phone and email throughout the entire long, drawn-out process and who put up and answered my constant, ridiculous questions with amazing diligence and patience. I couldn’t have written this without you Katie! Also, in no particular order, thank you to the following people who helped me with specifics (I apologise in advance for anyone I have forgotten): Nigel Simpson, Laurie Armantrading, John Spector, Kiran Ramani, Tom Hocknell, Kellie Smith, Nathan Filer, Angela Drinnan, Mandy Carey and everyone at Buckinghamshire MIND, Sam Afhim and RETHINK, Claire Townend, Philip Hodson, John Maynard, Andrew Marshall, Chris Flood, Thomas Patel, Lynne Jordan, Melissa Sanchez, Debbie Thomson and Michael Heard.

Huge thanks to Helen Nesbitt and Louis Quail for reading and giving invaluable feedback and HELP! And to Sue Kite for long discussions in her kitchen. Also, to all my lovely author friends, online and in the flesh. A girl could not wish for more support and love with this book and I am forever indebted.

FINALLY, thank you, as ever, to friends and family for putting up with me. I promise I won’t make such a meal about the next one. (And yes, I do know I say that every time.)

About the Author

Katy Regan was Features Writer and Commissioning Editor of
Marie Claire
before leaving to concentrate on writing fiction in 2007. Whilst there, she wrote a column
And then there were three … sort of
about her experience of having a baby with her best friend (who just remained a friend). This proved so successful it ran for two years and now, ten years on, people still remember it.

When she’s not writing fiction, Katy writes features for the likes of
Stella
magazine,
Psychologies
and
Marie Claire
. She is also blogging about her experience of writing her fifth novel on her website,
www.katyregan.com
. She lives in Hertfordshire with her son.
The Story of You
is her fourth novel.

Also by Katy Regan

One Thing Led To Another

The One Before The One

How We Met

Copyright

Published by HarperCollins
Publishers Ltd

77–85 Fulham Palace Road

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins
Publishers Ltd
2014

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014
Cover images © iStock (skyline);
Shutterstock.com
(figures, second skyline)
Cover lettering and design by:
www.emma-rogers.com

Katy Regan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007237456

Ebook Edition © July 2014 ISBN: 9780007431892

Version: 2014-07-03

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