Signs of Life in paperback…
sometimes you find the best in yourself during the worst life has to offer…
a true story of love and sadness and hope –
you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cheer
Signs of Life is Natalie Taylor’s 
story. It starts the day her husband dies and ends sixteen months later on her son’s first birthday.
Natalie’s journey from wife to widow to mother is heartbreaking, blackly funny and will move you to laughter and tears as she makes it across that finish line. And you have no doubt she will make it because Natalie is a warrior and a woman to cheer for.
Intelligent, witty and moving, this is the very best kind of indie movie in a book. A book to delight, to treasure and to press into the hands of your best friend saying ‘ you must read this!’
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A wonderful review of the book here.
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‘Summer is over and it’s time to go back to school. In some ways this is wonderful. I have to get dressed in the morning. Starting each day with a direction and a destination is a good thing. In other ways it’s really, really scary. I have practiced not crying in front of people for two months and somehow I have convinced myself that I will absolutely not present any of my inner feelings of weakness while at school. But teenagers are a lot like dogs in that they can sense things others can’t. They know when a teacher’s not on sturdy ground. Eleventh-grade students are typically very cynical and at this point in their high school careers are ready to question everything, especially the teacher and the text. They’re not dogs, they’re velociraptors.
We start the year with The Great Gatsby. This year I feel like Gatsby and I have a whole lot more in common. We both had a dream. We both pictured our lives working out in certain ways…he with Daisy and me with Josh and the kids. But like Gatsby there comes a moment when it sinks in that all the things we’ve pictured will never happen.’
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Click here to listen to Natalie on Australian radio!
Natalie’s blog on UK Publication here
Illustrated serialisation in YOU magazine
Watch Natalie’s Signs of Life trailer below
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Witty, heartbreaking and deeply personal – one you’ll want to share with friends
- Image
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a touching hopeful memoir
– Sainsbury Magazine, Hot Summer Reads
, Hot_
I wept sometimes, but it was the cleansing kind of crying that feels good for you. More often, I laughed out loud and re-read passages for the pure pleasure of it. Sit down with this book – see if you can stop after page one.
- Elizabeth Berg, author of Open House and Home Safe
Profound yet funny, painful yet hopeful. I couldn’t put it down.
- Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
This is a really good book. Smart and honest.
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About Natalie:
Natalie Taylor and her son, Kai, live in Royal Oak, Michigan. Natalie teaches high school English and recently obtained her master’s degree in education. Kai is working on his numbers, letters and colours. She has a great website (see below) and video, which, playing to our opinion that this is an indie movie in a book, already looks like a trailer.
Twitter @MyHouseIsAMess
Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. As a parent of young kids myself, I have no idea how she got through having her life ripped apart, through the exhaustion of single-parenthood and still came out the other end in one piece. Positive, uplifting and redemptive, this is a book all 30-somethings should read to put their lives into perspective.
I agree Richard. This book was absolutely gutting, especially as a parent with small children, but ultimately quite redemptive. I am impressed with Natalie as a writer and as a person. She made tough choices, picked herself up, and got back in to life. This is a rewarding read.
Thank you Natalie for opening your heart for the world to share.
You are an inspiration to us all.
I urge everyone to read this life affirming book.
Let’s all live our lives to the full.
Following Natalie’s journey through to Kai’s 1st birthday is very powerful.She writes so honestly . I love the way she finds strength from the books she reads with her High School classes.She writes from her heart and soul and it is well worth following her finding her way back to a full and fulfilling life
First and foremost, Natalie Taylor can really write – I couldn’t stop reading it.
She pulls you into her life and takes you on a remarkable and courageous journey, with her raw honesty, and pure brilliant writing skills.
Signs of Life is compelling, happy, sad, motivational, insightful and shows great strength and understanding and a discovery of self awareness.
I wept, laughed, compared and understood.
Read this and weep, laugh and be inspired, then pass it on to anyone you care about.
An inspirational read, cathartic and good humoured as well as desperately sad.
It describes very well how grief changes your outlook on life in positive as well as negative ways. Life is a messy business!
Although I’m usually reluctant to read books based on real-life tragedies, I was happily surprised by this book and I’m grateful for the recommendation.
It’s not a book about death, it’s about survival. It is sad, but at the same time it is full of hope, courage, resilience and inspiration. It’s a journey from darkness to light and the reader shares the pains and joys of the author, cheering her all along.
What begins as a painful struggle to find a meaning to life after loss, evolves with a series of events and words that the author interprets to explain behaviour and as a lever to push her out of the darkness that surrounds her. It is an inspiring story which will make you see life under another light and appreciate everything that surrounds us. Every page brings a thought-provoking paragraph, which will have you thinking about this book for a long time after finished.
This book vibrates with life and should be read by everyone to understand how we find strength when we are under the worst circumstances. How the meaning to things come at you when and where you least expect them to and how we should be open to see those signs. Signs of Life is an eye-opener and an invitation to enjoy life.