Hannah Pearl has an impressive collection of contemporary romance novels behind her, but in her new book, Meet Me on the Buddy Bench, she finally feels ready to confront her experiences of living with the ME/CFS head on.
Cover synopsis
As a primary school teacher, Ava Lam is familiar with the ‘buddy bench’: a rainbow painted bench where sad or lonely children can sit to show they need a friend. But are buddy benches just for kids? Ava might have assumed so – until she finds herself sobbing her heart out on a park bench and a kind stranger sits down next to her. The stranger, Dr Sam Stone, has a house, an impressive job and he’s even training for a marathon – all things that have become painfully out of reach for Ava in her new and scary circumstances. But whilst Sam appears to have everything figured out, it seems he needs a sympathetic ear just as much as she does.
Is the encounter a one-off, or could the ‘buddy bench’ begin to represent a source of comfort and support that will become precious to them both?
Having ME myself, I know how much it affects your whole life, and those around you, so to have a character in Ava who is going through the same struggles trying to come to terms with her illness, made me have all the feels and the author has done a wonderful job of trying to convey the impact it has on you, alongside the brick walls you find yourself facing in the quest to find help in finding ways of treating the condition. Karen M, Blogger and Reviewer, Books and Me blog
Both a demanding and a rewarding read, this is an incredibly emotional book which will enlighten the reader to a frequently misunderstood and debilitating illness. Ruth N, Amazon Reviewer
About the book
Meet Me on the Buddy Bench by Hannah Pearl is a book that sensitively deals with chronic illness and grief, but also friendship, joy, romance and hope for the future. In the story, the main character, Ava, is given the life-changing diagnosis of ME/CFS and has to learn to navigate the world with new and sometimes scary symptoms that Hannah herself is only too familiar with.
‘I gave Ava many of the same symptoms and experiences that I had,’ Hannah explains. ‘Finding a way to try and help raise awareness felt so important because I don’t usually feel well enough to attend inperson events or campaign as people have to raise awareness of other conditions. I felt guilty making Ava go through many of the same things that I’d experienced – the bone-crushing fatigue and the days’ long recoveries – but it felt powerful to capture a small taste of how it feels to live with ME/CFS’
The book has already received some fantastic reviews after its release in April 2022, and it’s clear that readers living with ME/ CFS find it refreshing to see a romance heroine going through similar experiences to themselves. ‘Having ME/CFS myself, I know how much it affects your whole life, and those around you,’ says book blogger Karen Mace, ‘so to have a character in Ava who is going through the same struggles trying to come to terms with her illness, made me have all the feels and the author has done a wonderful job of trying to convey the impact it has on you, alongside the brick walls you find yourself facing in the quest to find help and ways of treating the condition.’
Alongside the ME storyline, there is also a beautiful slow-burn romance revolving around an ordinary park bench which comes to hold a very special significance for the characters in the book. It is here where Ava sits and cries as she struggles to cope with her symptoms, only to be comforted by a friendly stranger, Dr Sam Stone, who, as Ava will find, is dealing with his own painful experiences of bereavement and grief. But perhaps the characters can go on to support each other in their own personal struggles? And the ‘buddy bench’ (as it comes to be known) is sure to play a key role in that.
‘As ever, my heart goes out to the thousands of people with M.E. who aren’t as well as me or Ava and who won’t be able to read this or any book,’ Hannah sums up. ‘I just hope that others can and that slowly, each representation of life with ME/ CFS helps inform new people, break down barriers and raise awareness so that one day we’re all treated with more understanding.’
Meet Me on the Buddy Bench is now available as an eBook on all platforms and also as an audiobook from Amazon from the link below
A note from Hannah Pearl
Writing my books means so much to me because it is a welcome escape from thinking about how poorly I feel much of the time, on days I am well enough to write, at least. I also try to be an active part of the ME community online when I can because I know how much comfort and support I have found there. Slowly, these worlds came together which I hadn’t expected but was very grateful for. When my first book was released as a paperback, my lovely publishers set up publicity opportunities for it which also gave me a platform to talk about my life as a writer with ME/CFS.
Eventually I felt ready to write a book where one of the main characters also has ME/CFS. I gave Ava many of the same symptoms and experiences that I had.
I’m grateful to everyone who has left reviews online, these are so reassuring for an author, especially when the book is so close to my heart. It’s been thrilling to see this strike a note for so many people, but it’s also helped start some really interesting conversations. I was chatting with a friend recently whose sister has ME/CFS. My friend is amazing, kind and thoughtful, and I can only imagine that she’s already as understanding with her sister as she is with me, but she said that the book still made her stop and think about how it feels to live like this all the time because, apart from the people we live with, so few people see the day to day reality. Generally we only see friends on good days (if we’re lucky enough to have them). Then friends depart and don’t see the hours of rest or days of recovery that can come afterwards.
As ever, my heart goes out to the thousands of people with ME/CFS who aren’t as well as me or Ava and who won’t be able to read this or any book. I just hope that others can and that slowly, each representation of life with ME/CFS helps inform new people, break down barriers and raise awareness so that one day we’re all treated with more understanding.
Biography
Hannah Pearl was born in East London. She is married with two children and now lives in Cambridge.
She has previously worked as a criminology researcher, as a development worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.
In 2015 she was struck down by Labyrinthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME/CFS. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning eReader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing.
In 2017, she won Simon and Schuster’s Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day. Soon after, her debut full-length novel, Evie’s Little Black Book, was snapped up by Ruby Fiction
