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The Nottingham-born writer took her first draft to the agent she’d worked with on her children’s books. “He told me not to give up the day job,” she reveals. “I tried another who was intimidatingly posh. She asked me, ‘darling how can I market you, are you poor?’ So, I went with someone else who signed me up with a publisher. It was a happy ending.” No one writes about family like Lucy does. This is a masterpiece in how broken people negotiate and ultimately survive the worst that life can throw at them. It's an absolutely beautiful book * Milly Johnson *A brilliantly observed slice of family life full of joy, sorrow, happiness and hope, I loved it * Alex Brown * Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters Through the novel we follow the four people closest to Leni, her mum Belinda, father Tony and sister and brother Alice and Will. Each is dealing with their grief in very different ways throughout the story. The way Diamond weaves each characters stories throughout works so well. Never do you feel lost or confused by what is happening. This is a story about grief, love and healing and as such the journey the family goes on is very special and yet also difficult. Diamond’s analogies of the butterfly having to fight it’s way out if it’s chrysalis and the way a river will learn to flow around a pebble we’re absolutely beautiful ways to explore how we might move forward after tragedy. Where Lucy Diamond does excel is in her character creation. Main or supporting, old or young, female or male…they’re all so well written. And the extended family as a whole. It’s a great exploration of a dysfunctional family without straying into the pantomime.

Somehow, this is the first of Lucy Diamond’s books I’ve read. I know of her and I’ve seen her books and often been interest in them, but for reasons unknown to me, I have never actually read one. But I was very eager to read this one. What follows are chapters from each family’s members viewpoint, her sister Alice, her brother Will, her mother Belinda and her father Tony. As there were so many characters to get to know I thought things might become quite confusing but it was easy to follow each of their individual storylines and I enjoyed seeing how at some point they were bound to come together. The absence of Leni is felt keenly by her family and by the reader too. You are desperate to get to know her and to read things from her perspective but you know this can’t occur but the further the story develops you do get a sense of who she was and how integral she was to the family and how loved she was. Will Lenis brother is really struggling to come to terms with everything and has fled the country. Alother this doesn't go quite as to plan as he hopes.I guarantee that anyone reading The Best Days of Our Lives will find it hugely relatable and take solace, pleasure and joy from it. Reading this one might just inspire you to try something new in your own life.

In spite of the sadness surrounding the family there is still lots of good humour in the book. I especially liked Tony, I thought his character was funny. He made mistakes in the past, but as he begins to realise he didn’t quite live up to being a particularly good dad, he is determined to make amends now that he’s lost one daughter. A bittersweet ode to the highs, the lows, and all the shades of living in between, The Best Days of Our Lives is Lucy Diamond at her absolute best. Prepare to be charmed! * Laura Jane Williams * She has the uncanny ability to look right into a person’s heart and convey the most hidden secrets and feelings they harbour, in ways that feel innovative and natural. The Best Days of Our Lives takes all those features and delivers an outstanding read that is simply fabulous.Everyone blamed themselves in their own way for Leni's death, even though it was no-one's fault. The only one who annoyed me was Alice, as what Leni was up to in her last days consumed her to the point of obsession and took over her whole life.