PS, I Love You

Did not manage to catch this movie when it was shown here a few months back. So, I read a few books during my medical leave for the past two days - and this book was one of them.

This novel is an achingly accurate account of the trip back to the living world after the death of a beloved partner. Holly's husband of seven years dies after a losing fight with brain cancer. What then happens to Holly happens to many who are bereaved. Friends seem to not know what to say or do, and so the new widow is left to her own devices. A few close and cherished friends hang in there, to help Holly recover from a trauma she is not sure will ever end – and she is not even sure that she wants it to end.

The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry. So it's a good thing that he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of 10 letters that will guide her, not only through her grief but in rediscovering herself. The messages are Gerry's way of informing Holly that life must go on. The messages include various tasks and treats Gerry has left for Holly. This is his way of letting her know he will always be there for her. In the months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way: "P.S. I Love You." Holly's mother and best friends, Sharon and Denise, begin to worry that Gerry's letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but, in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. With Gerry's words as her guide, Holly embarks on a journey of rediscovery in a story about marriage, friendship and how a love so strong can turn the finality of death into a new beginning for life.

Set in Dublin, Holly's journey is sensitively told in heartbreaking clarity. The character of Holly is truly admirable and the reader can easily identify with her. Everyone, at one time or another, has lost a loved one and must face the reality of continuing on without that special someone. While writing this book, Ahern was only twenty-two – whilst Holly is thirty. How the author managed to fill Holly's shoes is a triumph of writing that reflects a sensitivity beyond her years.