Many different kinds of love – Michael Rosen

An intensely moving account of Michael Rosen’s illness, and the beginnings of his recovery from covid.

Hearing that Michael had contracted covid felt like a body blow, and like many people I anxiously awaited news, following the tweets from his partner.  As a voice on the radio, and the author of so many books which make up the fabric of our lives, his illness felt personal.

I found the diary entries written by those who looked after him particularly emotional to read – they were so intimate and caring, and yet they spoke for the whole country too.  And maybe that summarises what this book does – it is a personal account of illness, but it also speaks for our collective experience of loss, and the anger that so many of us feel, too.