Manni and Reuben Coe – brother. Do. You. Love. Me

The tale of a cry for help that sparked a care-home rescue mission. When Manni Coe received a disconcerting text from his brother Reuben, he decided to remove him from the care system. The two tell their story in this remarkable book of brotherhood and love.

They were just five words, separated by four tiny full stops and four spaces: “brother. do. you. love. me.” But when, in November 2020, that text from Reuben Coe, who was alone in his room in a care home in Dorset, arrived on the phone of his brother Manni in Andalusia there was little else he could do. Manni had to get him out.

Soon the 48-year-old travel guide was packing his bags, saying an indeterminate goodbye to his partner Jack and flying to Britain on a one-way ticket. He collected Reuben, 38, from the home, where he was given a 10% chance of recovering…