The difference that one action can make…

Synopsis

One night in December, twenty-two year old Ted Green makes his way to Waterloo Bridge determined to end his life. Lonely, despairing and utterly hopeless, it seems the only choice to make.

That same night in December, Marianne Cooper is running away from a party. Having found her boyfriend in a passionate clinch with someone else, Marianne can’t get away fast enough. But as she makes her way along London’s South Bank, a figure catches her eye on top of the bridge.

Then she sees him, a man ready to jump.

When Marianne saves Ted’s life, this night in December becomes one they’ll never forget, but as Ted watches Marianne leave in a black taxi, all he can think is he should have asked her name.

In a story spanning twenty years, join Ted and Marianne as they navigate life’s twists and turns, joys and heartbreaks, while all the time wondering – will fate ever bring them together again…

My review

At the age of twenty – two, Ted Green feels like he has no purpose in life. The sense of being a burden to everyone, made him take the decision to end his life.
That same night in December, Marianne Cooper just discovered her boyfriend being too intimate with another woman. Walking back home, she sees a figure standing on top of the Waterloo Bridge.
Surprising herself, she manages to change the man’s mind. But before Ted can properly thank the woman who saved his life, she leaves in a taxi, without even knowing her name.
Ted and Marianne move on with their lives, never completely forgetting that one night, and the other person.
Live goes on, with highs and lows, but will they ever knowingly meet each other again? Or was that life – changing night all that Fate had in store for them?

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story, but I was glad I have read it.
This isn’t the kind of story where you know what direction the author is taking, or know beforehand what will happen to the main characters.

When we get to know Ted for the first time, he is in a dark place. And learning what he has been through, I could understand his reasoning. Even if I cannot see how dark things can get to want you to take that final step, I can see how you cannot see a way out.
The author managed to show the readers how truly ugly thoughts can go but also how one act of kindness can change it all.

This book shows us not only two people meeting, but the course of a whole lifetime (well, twenty years ☺️).
Both main characters moved on from that one night in December, but never completely forgetting it.
And through the eyes of Ted and Marianne, we see that each life is full of twists and turns, ups and downs.
Ted seems to get his life back on track after that one night, and it would seem that he will get everything he wished for.
While Marianne seems to get struggling more and more with finding her own happiness.
Life is never just black or white, life can be good one day, and another day everything can be falling apart again.

I loved reading how, despite not knowing each other, Ted and Marianne seem to keep catching glimpses of each other without realizing it.
Shows again how linked different lives and situations can be…

While the story of Bridge Man and Fairy Girl could have been a fairy-tale, or one for superheroes, this is the life story of two people connected by one evening by one simple action.
It was mind – opening to see how real everything happening to the both of them felt, the beautiful bits but also the raw bits.
And how in the end, everything felt, just like for the characters, home…