She would never again run her fingers through his soft hair, never share a secret joke across the table at a dinner party, never cry to him when she got home from a hard day at work and just needed a hug she would never share a bed with him again, never be woken up by his fits of sneezes each morning, never laugh with him so much her stomach would ache, never fight with him about whose turn it was to get up and turn the bedroom light off. Gerry was gone and he would never be back. Bile rose to her throat and she ran to the bathroom, where she collapsed to her knees before the toilet. Apart from the low hum of the fridge and the occasional moaning of the pipes, the house was quiet. Pins and needles ran up the back of her neck and a lump in her throat threatened to choke her.

H OLLY HELD THE BLUE COTTON sweater to her face and the familiar smell immediately struck her, an overwhelming grief knotting her stomach and pulling at her heart.

PS, I Love You is a story not just about love and grief but also about hope. We haven’t lost everything, if we haven’t lost our hope.

I hope that in some way, they either entertain or help a moment in yours. This book, this story, these characters changed my life. I never imagined that the story, not least the sentiments, would reach so many people around the world, nor did I ever imagine that I would receive so many heartfelt letters from people sharing their own precious private moments of similar stories.Īnd now, as it has been adapted to a film, the story, but I think most importantly, the message, will be shared even more. This was my first book, written during the night at my dining room table. Through writing his letters and preparing her tasks, he prepares himself for leaving this world and for Holly’s years left without him. In this story, the very person that Holly is grieving is the one to help her through the process Gerry’s final gift for her. It’s also a positive message of love and hope-how our love for someone will never die because they live on in our hearts, in our memories, and, in Holly and Gerry’s case, through Gerry’s letters. PS, I Love You is a story about losing a loved one-and continuing to love that lost one. For me, the fear of losing a loved one, and all those terrifying thoughts of what it’s like to be left behind and feel alone, drove me to conceive and write this story. Fear drives us to do many things in our lives.

Postscript cecelia ahern