A Day Like This

A Novel

By: Kelley McNeil

Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

What if everything you’ve ever loved, ever known, ever believed to be true...just disappeared?

Annie Beyers has everything - a beautiful house, a loving husband, and an adorable daughter. It’s a day like any other when she takes Hannah to the pediatrician...until she wakes hours later from a car accident. When she asks for her daughter, confused doctors tell Annie that Hannah never existed. In fact, nothing after waking from the crash is the same as Annie remembers. Five happy years of her life apparently never happened.

Annie’s marriage is coming to an end. Now a successful artist living in Manhattan, she’s no longer home in their beloved upstate farmhouse. Her long-estranged sister is more like a best friend, and her recently deceased dog is alive and well. With each passing day, Annie’s remembered past and unfamiliar present begin to blur. Haunted by visions of Hannah, and with knowledge of things she can’t explain, Annie wonders...is everyone lying to her?

The search for answers leads Annie down an illuminating path far from home, to reconcile the memories with reality and to discover the truth about the life she’s living.

©2021 by Kelley McNeil. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“Amanda Leigh Cobb embodies the voice of Annie, who is struggling to make sense of the new world she finds herself in, a world in which Hannah never existed, her 'yellow house' is gone, and her marriage has ended. As the story shifts between a present she doesn't recognize and a past happy life with Hannah and her husband, Cobb's voice is filled with emotion. She often sounds frustrated and on the edge of tears as Annie tries to make sense of a past and present that do not fit together.”—AudioFile Magazine

“…fresh and absorbing.”—Booklist

“A literary masterpiece of magical realism, A Day Like This is a riveting read and showcases author Kelley McNeil’s impressive flair for original and narrative driven storytelling.”—Midwest Book Review

“The concept of this novel is intriguing, a skillful blend of novel and quantum mechanics and exploring the what-ifs of life.”—Midwest Book Review

Great writing and narration

This story will stay with me. Its characters and its themes, the way that it’s crafted, the questions that it poses; all in all while keeping the mystery and the intrigue up until the end in a very Hitchcockian fashion. Nothing in this story is unnecessary or superfluous, it’s not overwritten (thankfully), but distilled to the essence in a poetic way that leaves enough room for the reader/listener to complete the picture with their own imagination.

But it’s the narrator, Amanda Leigh Cobb, and her seamless and fully committed rendering of the story that seals the deal for me. Perfect match for the writing, the characters, the emotional journey. Hard not to fall immediately for her warm and expressive voice, the immersive interpretation of characters and situations, her emotional range… and let her drawn you right into the world of the author.

So satisfying. Didn’t wanted it to end.

Kept me guessing

This was the first audio book I've tried. I'm a nurse and working 16 hours days, 5-6 days a week doesn't leave room for reading. This book was amazing. I couldn't figure out what was real the whole time.

You know how at the end of each

audio book, a nameless man says ‘Audible hopes you have enjoyed this program.’?

Well yes, I very much enjoyed the last half of A Day Like This . Very much!

The first half is - or seems to be- a cliched, early 21st century domestic drama, filled with the usual, dull whingeing and confusion from an imperiled protagonist to the point that I almost pronounced it ‘insufferable’ and threw in the towel a few times… but then the story shifts into a metaphysical gear and becomes very (very) engaging with no loose ends or lazy red herrings.

Writer Kelley McNeil and reader Amanda Leigh Cobb are now both on my radar. I look forward to enjoying their work again.

Masterful Narration!

A fascinating story made even more so by Amanda’s masterful ability to make each character real and distinct; each emotion genuine and compelling; and the scenic descriptions completely mesmerizing. What an incredible talent!

So different but SO good!

This story was was so good. All of the “what if’s”! Not my normal genre but so glad I listened. The narrator was awesome. I could feel all of the emotions and characters we very distinct with no guessing as to who was speaking. I would definitely recommend.

Reader was terrific and I got the ending that I wanted!

I don’t believe in the supernatural goings on but I really enjoyed the characters! Tied all the loose ends up!

Kept my attention!

Good book, it just got a little long winded. It could have been edited down by an hour or so without losing anything.

Just ok

Overall it was a good story but there were several chapters, particularly towards the end where I just thought the story dragged.

Too weird for me!

While this book kept my attention, it was just too weird for me to wrap my brain around.

Just ok

This one was just ok. I was expecting a little more from the story but it was kind of flat and not something I would likely recommend or read again.

Original story

I enjoyed this book it has an original concept on the possibilities of two lives running in two parallel places at the same time . the narration was great

Something different

Interesting concept translating a version of “what if?” in a novel.
Good story, taking what could be a pretty Out There idea into something compelling and plausible. That, to me, is the magic of storytelling.