Live Your Life by Amanda Kloots (with Anna Kloots)

Covid-19 entered our lives in the early part of 2020 and like the rest of the world, I too was scared and overwhelmed by how quickly everything changed. Suddenly, the words ‘quarantine’, ‘ventilator’ and ‘PPE’ were used in our daily vocabulary. The news was filled with endless reports of thousands upon thousands of people becoming sick or dying of this new virus, Covid-19. This virus doesn’t differentiate between whether you are black or white, rich or poor, famous or not famous. People were becoming sick everywhere and it was terrifying.

Anyone who has lost a loved one to this terrible virus has their own story to tell, and one such person is Amanda Kloots. Amanda’s husband, Nick Cordero (actor and Broadway star), contracted the virus early in the pandemic and spent 95 days in the ICU at Cedars Sinai. Like many of her followers, I too followed her daily Instagram reports and was shocked and surprised to learn that a 41-year old man who was fit and healthy with no underlying health conditions could suddenly succumb to this deadly virus, so quickly. The book is filled with raw emotion and you can feel yourself willing Nick to ‘wake up’.

Within this book, Amanda reflects upon her love, life and loss of her husband as he bravely fought his public battle with Covid-19. I listened to the audio book as this was released earlier than the physical copy in the UK (which I have also pre-ordered), hence the stock photograph. Every single time I listened to the book, I felt like I was having an intimate conversation with Amanda and it was often impossible to hold back the tears. Although I had read the news and watched Amanda’s updates throughout her journey whilst Nick was in the ICU, nothing prepared me for how I would feel listening to her ordeal through her own voice. Despite having just moved from New York to LA, buying a new home which needed renovating, having a baby to look after and having her husband contract a deadly virus, Amanda still managed to keep her faith and remain positive right until the bitter end.

This is a truly heartbreaking story and unfortunately, one in which Amanda is not the only victim. My heart goes out to her, her son Elvis, and her family, as well as to anyone in the world who has lost someone they love to this virus. For any of the people who are Covid-19 skeptics, who believe that the virus won’t affect them as they are fit and healthy and who are still constantly putting other people’s lives at risk, I urge you to read Amanda and Nick’s story. Life can change in an instant and if there is one thing that I have taken away from this book, that is to ‘live your life’. RIP Nick Cordero…

Bewitched by Books Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️