Below the Big Blue Sky cover art

Below the Big Blue Sky

A heartbreaking, heartwarming, laugh-out-loud novel for fans of Jojo Moyes

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Below the Big Blue Sky

By: Anna McPartlin
Narrated by: Simone Kirby
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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This audio edition features original music composed and recorded for the audiobook.

How does a family pick up the pieces, when the one person who held them all together has gone?

When forty-year-old Rabbit Hayes dies, she leaves behind a family broken by grief. Her mother Molly is distraught and in danger of losing her faith. Her father Jack spends hour upon hour in the family attic, poring over his old diaries, losing himself in the past.

Rabbit's brother Davey finds himself suddenly guardian to her twelve-year-old daughter Juliet. Juliet might be able to fill a hole in Davey's heart - but how can he help Juliet through her grief when he can barely cope with his own?

Meanwhile, Rabbit's sister Grace is struggling with the knowledge that she carries the same gene that made her sister ill, and Rabbit's best friend Marjorie is lost, struggling to remain a part of a family she has always wished was her own now that her link to them is gone.

But even though the Hayes family are all fighting their own battles, they are drawn together by their love for Rabbit, and their love for each other. In the years that follow her death they find new ways to celebrate and remember her, to find humour and hope in the face of tragedy, and to live life to its fullest, as Rabbit would have wanted.

Below the Big Blue Sky will make you laugh, cry and shout with joy for the colourful, unruly Hayes family as they battle with the loss of their beloved Rabbit, the daughter, mother, sister and friend, who in her own crazy way taught each of them how to live, and goes on showing them how to love from beyond the grave. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Grief & Loss Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Personal Development Relationships Women's Fiction Comedy Heartfelt Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

I'm in bits. In BITS. It's been a long time since I've read something that spoke to my soul like this - such a achingly beautiful description of what it is to love and grieve - and in time to learn to laugh at that grief and move on too. When I wasn't reaching for the Kleenex to wipe away a little tear, I was guffawing with laughter - Anna has the gift of being able to make you laugh and sob, and all on a single page. The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes was one of the most amazing books I have ever had the privilege of reading and now this is a worthy successor. Wow. Just wow. I know this will be one of the books of the year for me
All stars
Most relevant
I loved this book as much as The Last Days of Rabbit Hays. It's Grand.

An incredible follow up.

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Absolutely wonderful. The fabulous Hayes family. I didn’t want this to end.
The narration is superb.

Wonderful

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Such a brilliant book. First class narration. It has it all, tears of joy and sadness. Perfect 💕

Fabulous!!

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I absolutely loved this audio book. The characters and the swearing in the loveable Dublin accent reminds me if my cousins over the water and my visits from England 3 times a year. I listen to audio books as I walk my dog and have to say it was embarrassing sometimes people giving me a wide birth as I laughed and cried. The song at the end was the final straw! This book was Ab Fab well done.

what roller coaster!

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Loved the Last days of Rabbit Hayes and Brilliant to catch up with the family.
It bought back some personal experiences for me and unexpectedly answered some questions.
❤️

Poignant funny and real

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