Thank to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
Annie is a 30 something married woman who receives devastating news of a cancer diagnosis. Against her doctors advice she googles her diagnosis and prepares for the worst, except she doesn’t tell her husband Sam. Instead she writes a manual for his life without her.
I was excited by the premise and was waiting for a hilarious ‘handbook’. So the pros...the book was funny and thought provoking and enjoyable. The cons, I spent the whole time mad at Annie for not telling her husband. Like really mad. But I guess that was the point...to show us what not to do in this instance. I also didn’t like how quickly the book came to a resolution and ended. It felt abrupt..
The good news is I think this would spark a lot of conversation in a book club. I have readers who would enjoy this book. I appreciate that it was a clean read as well.

I absolutely loved this book. It was sweet and simple and after the intensity of the last couple of books I’ve read, this one was so welcomed.

Annie receives some bad news. She’s going to die. What she worries about most, though, is her husband of 17 years, Sam. They were meant to find each other and grow old together, they both agree. Besides, Sam is hopeless at looking after himself - what will he do without her? Annie decides to write Sam a manual for how to live after she’s gone. It’s full of all the practical day to day things - how to dos, what to dos, where to dos, etc. and most importantly, to fall in love again.

It was so charming and full of love. I so enjoyed this book and am so thankful for the advanced copy to read and review. It was delightful and a pleasure to read! If you’re after an easy read that ties itself up nice and neatly at the end, I’d definitely recommend this one!

This book started out well for me. I liked both of the main characters and my heart broke when she got the news. From the description (her comically incompetent husband), I was a little concerned Sam would be a caricature but he really wasn't. Medwed rounded out Annie and Sam both. Where the book fell short for me is that the other characters were not well rounded and Annie's behaviors seemed to not fit everything Medwed had been telling you about this person. It also fell together a bit too quickly and neatly at the end. Not a bad book at all but it fell flat for me.

I so enjoyed this story!
When Annie receives a devastating diagnosis, she knows that she has to help her husband Sam once she is gone.
Hence, she writes a manual for his survival that she is sure will help him move forward without her.
What she does not expect, is her mother visiting and then finding this manual and reading it!
They have never had a true Mother-Daughter relationship and Annie had no intention of telling Ursula of this situation. OH NO! Now what?
A story of fear, hope and love, mixed with humor and the reality of just how short life might be!
Well done!!

This book was amazing. It was sad and funny and heartbreaking. I loved it from the start till the end. Definitely one to read.

A new release from the author of the delightful How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, Minus Me is the story of Annie’s health scare and what it does to her relationship with her mother and her husband. Sam and Annie are a cute couple who hasn’t quite figured it out yet (has anyone?), but when Annie thinks she’s dying, she writes Sam a manual for how to get along without her, hence the title of the book. Her life-minus-me handbook makes for some really charming, clever reading, but the bigger problem (than, well, dying) is that these two really don’t know or trust each other well enough for either of them to a) communicate this information to each other, and b) succeed in life if they continue on like this.

When Annie is whisked off to New York to see specialists by her difficult mother, a famous actress, they leave Sam completely in the dark. Marriage red flag here—if you can’t tell your husband that your doctor thinks you’re dying and you need a lung biopsy, you have big problems. I got a little frustrated with Annie here, I mean, come on, this is Marriage 101. But as Annie takes us on her journey, we get to know and like her mother better, and while Sam and Annie’s popularity falls with me for a while, they figure it out and become a better couple for it. They’re journey is just that, a journey, not an ending, and I like that.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. When I read what the book was about it intrigued me because it is one of those things no one is sure what they would do until you're faced with it. This book tells us what Annie decides to do so we can see all that she goes through, how things can change and improve, plus how much her relationship with her mother improved. We also get to see what her husband goes through because all he knows is his wife abandoned him.
This is a wonderful book of what-ifs that is going to be great for people to read because it is going to have great discussions after reading it. It makes us think about what we would do and I have a better understanding of what someone goes through so it will help me if or when I am faced with it. This is a great book that shows us so many emotions and someday we all will face our mortality so it is nice to have a better understanding of it.

I was delighted to get to read an advance copy of this book as I am a big fan of Mameve Medwed's books. It's been a long wait since her last one; I hope we won't have to wait so long for her next! As always, this one was a pleasure to read. There was something for everyone- humor, tragedy, relationships, etc. I think book groups would enjoy discussing this book, since there are a lot of issues which could be debated and discussed- marriage, mother-daughter relationships, health privacy. The author does a wonderful job bringing her characters to life, and I enjoyed the book being based mostly in Maine. I highly recommend this book.

I have only one problem with this book, WHY DID I HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG TO READ IT? I have loved every book that MEDWED ever wrote. I have never missed one. I have never been disappointed, but this was just the best.

I find it hard to love anything during this difficult time, but here I am sobbing and satisfied after finishing this book. Such a lovely story of Annie and Sam and the hell they went through, separately, to find their ending.

Every character is well formed, every bit of the book was well researched. I loved the character of Ursula, Annie’s mother. Of course, as a total hypochondriac, I really am awfully grateful that I live in NYC.

I promise every woman’s reading group, you will all love this. Plenty to discuss and perhaps disagree about. After I finishing this galley, I am sorry that my friends will have to wait until December to read it. No worries, it will be on all my winter 2020 Best Novels Lists. At least, I’ve found something good about 2020.

Thank you Netgalley for this delightful and engaging novel!

BTW, CANT GET THE REVIEW ON GOODREADS, HELP!