Craig R. Taylor’s New Memoir, 2 + Banana = No, Reveals a Powerful Love Story Tested by Distance, Illness and Bureaucracy
A deeply personal and darkly humorous memoir follows two people who find unexpected love across five time zones and must fight an immigration system that threatens to keep them apart.
Author Craig R. Taylor announces the publication of 2 + Banana = No, an emotionally candid memoir about resilience, international love, second chances and the devastating human consequences that can follow when bureaucracy fails to acknowledge its mistakes.
Taylor believed the most eventful chapters of his life were already behind him. After surviving a heart attack, cancer and a stroke, navigating the end of a long marriage and facing professional and financial uncertainty, he expected the years ahead to be quieter. Instead, a simple message sent through an online dating platform introduced him to Olya, a warm, determined English teacher living five time zones away in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
What begins as an unexpected online connection soon becomes an extraordinary international relationship. Craig initially believes Olya lives near Edinburgh, only to discover that her daughter had created the profile and that Olya actually lives in Russia. Rather than allowing the distance to end their conversations, the couple continues building a bond through daily messages and video calls. Their relationship eventually leads them through airports, visa applications, emotional reunions, health emergencies, cultural differences and a wedding by the Black Sea.
Written with openness, affection and distinctly British humor, 2 + Banana = No captures both the joyful and chaotic sides of their journey. Taylor recounts their nerve-racking first meeting in Antalya, their travels through Edinburgh, Glasgow, Blackpool, London, Istanbul and Batumi and the ordinary moments that transform a long-distance relationship into a committed marriage.
However, the memoir is more than a love story.
After their marriage, Craig and Olya submit an application intended to allow them to build a permanent life together in the United Kingdom. The application is refused following what Taylor describes as a basic financial calculation error. According to his account, balances from two different bank accounts and two different dates were combined incorrectly, producing a result that did not accurately represent the couple’s finances. Taylor compares the logic behind the decision to “adding 2 to a banana and making the decision No” to the experience that gives the book its unforgettable title.
Despite submitting a detailed spreadsheet, bank evidence, correspondence from a Member of Parliament’s representative and further explanations, the couple is directed toward an appeal process that could take between 12 and 18 months. The resulting separation places enormous emotional and physical strain on both Craig and Olya.
“I initially wrote this book as a form of therapy while trying to survive the visa process,” Taylor explains in the memoir. “But it also became a way to raise awareness, challenge a process that is not working and encourage someone with the authority to do the right thing.”
Through intimate memories, travel mishaps, moments of tenderness and unfiltered frustration, 2 + Banana = No asks readers to consider what happens when human lives become trapped inside rigid systems. At its heart, the book remains a testament to love, persistence, accountability and the determination to keep fighting when common sense appears to have disappeared.
Today, Craig and Olya have been apart for more than a year, despite having expected to be living together in the UK for the past seven months. While they continue to wait for a resolution, they have arranged to meet for a two-week reunion in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where travel is possible without the restrictions and high seasonal costs they face elsewhere. Their hope remains simple: that someone will finally do the right thing and allow them to begin the life together they have fought so hard to build.
The 136-page English-language memoir was published in June 2026 and is available in paperback and hardback formats.
About the Author
Craig R. Taylor spent more than 35 years working in financial services, including banking and insurance. A lifelong sports and music enthusiast, he credits resilience, determination, and humor with helping him face serious health challenges and the unexpected turns of his personal life. Now in his sixties, Taylor is focused on building a future with his wife, Olya, while using their experience to draw attention to the human impact of flawed bureaucratic decisions.
Book Name: 2 + Banana = No
Author Name: Craig R. Taylor
ISBN Number: B0H51R4964
Ebook Version: Click Here
Audiobook Version: Click Here
Hardcover Version: Click Here
Paperback Version: Click Here
Website: https://2plusbanana.com
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