I have been enjoying and appreciating afresh the novels by Alice Peterson, re-reading after a decade or so. She’s an excellent writer with a good sense of characterisation and realistic dialogue, and she tells stories using unusual scenarios, sometimes: typically involving people with either physical or mental disabilities.
I first read ‘By my side’ back in 2013, so a little less than eight years ago, but I’d almost entirely forgotten what it was about. I did remember some of it, as I read the first chapter. Cass is the narrator, a young woman in her twenties who is studying medicine. She lives with her boyfriend Sean and goes out to get some breakfast… a moment’s distraction happens, and her life changes forever.
It’s no spoiler to say that Cass wakes up after a severe spinal injury that leaves her partially paralysed. It’s mentioned in the blurb on the back, and is the focus of the entire novel. The first chapter is by way of a prologue, showing us an ordinary, intelligent and attractive person who makes one foolish mistake that cannot be undone.
But it’s not a moralistic book in any way. Instead it takes us through some of the emotions and mental states which Cass undergoes, as she slowly tries to come to terms with her new disability. She goes back to live with her parents - her boyfriend can’t deal with her injuries - and at first is cocooned inside, unwilling to go anywhere. Her parents are excellent, and very believable: they want to protect and care for her, but realise that she has to learn a measure of independence, and find a way of living again, albeit in a different way from before.
iI found Cass likeable and realistic, and thought it an excellent device to tell the story through her eyes. It’s in the present tense, which makes everything more immediate; I didn’t even notice at first, but was rooting for her, seeing through her eyes not just her newly restricted life, but the way in which many people react differently to her: either ignoring her completely, or being over sympathetic.
So it’s quite a thought-provoking book; I found myself asking where the balance is, how to behave ‘normally’ - whatever that means - with someone in a wheelchair, or otherwise physically disabled, while not ignoring their problems, nor being insensitive. There are times when Cass needs help - to get upstairs, for instance, or simply to fetch her chair if it’s not nearby.
Cass’s wise mother introduces her to an organisation that offers dogs as assistants; I was, of course, familiar with guide dogs for blind people, but had forgotten that in this book guide dogs for a wide variety of disabilities are introduced: and, as the end-notes explain, there’s a real organisation described. We see the initial training, and how the dogs are introduced to their potential companions. And while it’s interesting, I have to admit to skimming a little as the book becomes a tad over-educational concerning these dogs - likeable though they are.
In fact that’s my one problem with this book: it seems to attempt rather a lot of education, not just about the training dogs. There’s rather more than I wanted to read about spinal injuries, and what the different categories mean to each individual. There’s also a great deal about a trust called Backup, which is also an excellent organisation, from what’s described; they match disabled people with different activities around the world, and ensure they have access and all the help they need. That’s great: but once again there was far more information than I wanted to read.
There’s a romantic thread, of course; and that provides plenty more to think about, as Cass asks what she can and can’t do, and the young man concerned - who likes her very much - is unsure about just what it will mean, in a long-term relationship with someone so disabled physically. It’s nicely done, with misunderstandings as well as relatively low-key romance; nothing explicit, and a good friendship as well as love.
Alice Peterson is herself familiar with physical problems: at eighteen she was diagnosed with a debilitating illness, and had to give up a promising career in tennis. Her own story is covered in her autobiographical book 'About Alice'. I’m sure this gives her the edge in empathising with characters such as Cass, and making them such believable people.
'By my side' is a good book, one I liked reading again; but it didn’t grip me quite like some of her other books have done. Still, I’d recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about what it might be like to have a serious injury like Cass does, or anyone who enjoys women’s fiction with a bit more to think about than many novels of this genre.
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