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We Are All Made of Stars

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We Are All Made of Stars

By: Rowan Coleman
Narrated by: Avita Jay, Ben Allen, Various
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About this listen

Married to a soldier who has returned from Afghanistan injured in body and mind, Stella Carey leaves the house every evening.

During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones - some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain - promising to post them after their deaths.

Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if she delivers it in time....

©2015 Rowan Coleman (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Romance Women's Fiction

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Critic reviews

"What a gorgeous book this is - it gripped me and wouldn't let me go. So engaging, so beautifully written - I loved every single thing about it." (Jill Mansell)
" We Are All Made of Stars is simply wonderful. Profoundly moving and ultimately hopeful, this story - like its deftly drawn characters - refuses to let you forget it." (Miranda Dickinson)
All stars
Most relevant  
Thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Seamless transitions between characters who were cleverly interwoven. Heart-wrenching at times in a beautiful way.

Note though that there is a reasonable amount of coarse language, which I found a little unpalatable, though the language was not presented in a crude way, more as the vernacular of some characters. Personally, I didn't think the language was necessary, and for me this can spoil a book, but I guess it at least did seem somewhat appropriate to the characters in this instance. Still unnecessary though.

I remember once hearing Will Smith quote his grandmother during an interview on the Graham Norton show. In response to reading his rap, which contained bad language, she left a note in his rap book: 'Dear Willard... Truly intelligent people do not have to use words like this to express themselves. Please show the world that you're as smart as we think you are.' . I'm not having a go at the author, as this book is very intelligently written. I guess I'm just making a general statement about whether or not authors need to use bad language in their writing. It put me off one of Rowan Coleman's other books, as it was just too much, from very early on, so I ditched it. The language is the reason for 4 stars rather than 5.

Fabulous read - quite a lot of f-bombs

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I loved loved this book. It's the first book I read by the author. I cried my heart out in places and then was crying with laughter the next minute. Hope made me laugh out loud with some of her thoughts and things she says.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.
The narrator did a fabulous job especially with all of the different voices. Well done.
If only there were more people Ike Stella in this world.
I would recommend this book whole heartedly.
Maybe the only caveat would be, don't listen to it if you are feeling down, as there some lovely uplifting moments but some very sad moments. Definitely buy it just wait until you are in a happy mood.

Fantastic book

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I carried my phone around everywhere just to listen to this one!!! Beautiful stories of love in their various forms set against the back drop of a hospice....might not sound cheery but it will warm your heart and probably make you cry.

Loved it

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There was a lot going on in this book, and it takes a while for it to become apparent where the connections are. This makes the whole thing feel a bit disjointed in parts.
The story centres around a nurse working nights in a hospice....or possibly a young CF patient who goes there for respite care. Not sure.... You can get the gist of it from reading the publisher's blurb. Anyway, in parts, it feels like a lot of random short stories, but it does all make sense in the end. I gave the story 4 stars as it's an interesting take on relationships, and a difficult set of issues to tackle (terminal illness / disability caused by war / the difficulties of being a single parent / dealing with cystic fibrosis as a young adult / family secrets....) not really selling it am I??
So to try and be brief. The letters written for the dying will break your heart - but you probably knew they would. Ben the boyfriend had a really annoying voice, and the relationship between him and his best friend with cystic fibrosis was irritating. (no idea why - maybe because of the voices). The wife / soldier story was too drawn out. The letter writing was a bit random and the friendship between the neighbours and the little boy seemed a bit unlikely. It was ok....but not a page turner. And I feel mean for saying that because most of their problems weren't of their own doing. Probably better to read than listen.

A Few Too Many Sub Plots.

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I enjoyed the story and characters within the book and might listen to more by this author. However, I would have preferred the narrators to stick to reading voices from their own gender, as when they depicted the characters of the opposite sex, their impression was very stereotypical and slightly irritating. Sorry.

Good story - narration could be improved, but OK.

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Wow.
Simply.
Just wow.

So well written.
So well narrated.
I couldn't stop listening.
Thhank you.

NO PRAISE HIGH ENOUGH

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I've never read anything by Rowan Coleman before, I guess I had her down as a bit of a Chick-Lit author, but We Are All Made of Stars seemed to be getting a lot of attention so I decided to listen to the audiobook from Audible. Before I go any further I must say that this was an excellent narration from Avita Jay and Ben Allen and I particularly liked the voice of Ben, from Avita.

There are four relationships under the microscope here, Stella, the central character and her Afghanistan Vet husband, Vincent; Hope, a Cystic Fibrosis sufferer, recouperating from a severe infection, and her friend Ben; Hugh and Sarah, the girl who moves in next door (and his cat, Jake, who contrives to visit all the characters in the book); and Gladys who joins the cast later on but links back to Hugh.

Stella works in a hospice for terminal and recouperating patients and has become known amongst them a writer of last letters to loved ones. This becomes the theme that holds the book together, though I wasn't so keen on the letters that bore no relation to characters in the book, possibly because in narration these came over as a bit superfluous, perhaps the written version has them in italics, or something.

The letters are always sealed and kept for the loved ones on the death of the patient, but Stella is not happy about one particular letter, which she wants to deliver now, before it is too late.

This was a great read, with an excellent balance of sadness,love and humour. I might well take a look at some of Rowan's more recent books, if not her earlier, more Chick-Lit titles.

Letters from the dying.

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I absolutely loved, loved, LOVED this book, and didn't want it to end. It's the story of Stella, a hospice nurse, Hope, a young woman/girl suffering from CF, and Hugh, a single man, working at a museum, interwoven with 'last letters', dictated to Stella by her dying patients. It is happy, sad, life-affirming, and I can't wait to listen to more books by the same author. Thank you!

I didn't want this book to stop...

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A funny, poignant and lovable book. Well-written - the stories are beautifully woven together. And each of the short letters offers a different perspective on a common theme. Well narrated too.

The Power of a Letter

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An enjoyable story, albeit a little saccharine, with some interesting characters. The outcomes, however, were almost entirely predictable, and I felt the book would’ve benefited from more ruthless editing in places.

Nice but predictable

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