#BookReview | #Postscript by @Cecelia_Ahern | @HCinIreland

‘It’s been seven years since Holly Kennedy’s husband died – six since she read his final letter, urging Holly to find the courage to forge a new life…’
– Postscript

There was a seismic shift, the planets moved, there was a collective roar when it was announced that the very much longed for sequel to the international and New York Times bestselling PS I Love You was on it’s way…..

AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME….

What did Holly do next? Time to find out.

Postscript by Cecelia Ahern will be published tomorrow…YES..tomorrow September 19th with Harper Collins and is a tear-jerking, hankie-soaking read that will pull at EVERY heart string. I was just a little shattered on finishing it if I’m honest…

[ About the Book ]

It’s been seven years since Holly Kennedy’s husband died – six since she read his final letter, urging Holly to find the courage to forge a new life.

She’s proud of all the ways in which she has grown and evolved. But when a group inspired by Gerry’s letters, calling themselves the PS, I Love You Club, approaches Holly asking for help, she finds herself drawn back into a world that she worked so hard to leave behind.

Reluctantly, Holly beings a relationship with the club, even as their friendship threatens to destroy the peace she believes she has achieved. As each of these people calls upon Holly to help them leave something meaningful behind for their loved ones, Holly will embark on a remarkable journey – one that will challenge her to ask whether embracing the future means betraying the past, and what it means to love someone forever…

[ My Thoughts ]

For anyone who has suffered a bereavement or witnessed a loved one slip away after a battle with a terminal illness, Cecelia Ahern’s words will cut deep. I am not going to go into my own personal experiences, as I have to be respectful of others, but what I will say is that the stars aligned with the timing of this book for me. It was the perfect fit.

Whether or not you have read PS I Love You is irrelevant when picking up a copy of Postscript, as Cecelia Ahern weaves Holly’s past expertly into the present. If you have read PS I Love You then you know you are set for another crazy, emotional roller-coaster of a ride.

Holly Kennedy lives in Dublin in the home she shared with Gerry. Gerry was the love of Holly’s life. From the age of fourteen, they were inseparable, until tragedy struck and Gerry was taken too soon.

‘In the days and months after my husband’s death, I searched for some elusive transcendental connection to him, desperate to feel whole again, like an insufferable thirst that needed to be quenched. On days when I was functioning, his presence would creep up behind me and tap me on the shoulder, and suddenly I’d feel an unbearable emptiness. A parched heart. Grief is endlessly uncontrollable.’

Holly catapulted into a dark place after Gerry passed seven years ago but Gerry knew Holly needed help so he wrote some letters, words that would help her cope with the big gaping hole in her life after he had left her. Holly read these letters every month for a year and now six years after that final letter, Holly is about to start another unexpected and very affecting journey. This unplanned journey will challenge Holly and will make her further examine the life she is now living, the life she thought she had established for herself after Gerry’s death. But can Holly ever truly move on? Is there life for Holly after Gerry?

Ciara, Holly’s sister, owns a vintage shop. It is here that Holly works, passing her days sorting through the pockets and paraphernalia of other people’s lives. Holly is happy with her life. She has a new boyfriend, a job she enjoys and is surrounded by friends and family that want only the best for her. Holly is very proud of how she has survived after Gerry’s death but an arbitrary decision to speak about Gerry and his letters in a podcast that her sister hosts will send ripple effects through Holly’s world as she now knows it, changing her life yet again….

Holly is approached by a group, calling themselves the PS, I Love You Club. This group had heard Holly’s words on Ciara’s podcast and were inspired to follow in Gerry’s path, leaving messages for their loved one. This club is no ordinary club. As Holly soon discovers it is made up of a small group of people, who all have one very tragic thing in common – they are all dying. Holly’s emotions are in turmoil. To assist the club means going back over her own traumatic few years since Gerry died but it would also be something special for her to experience, perhaps giving back something to others. Holly makes the brave decision to help if she can but is totally unprepared for the consequences of her actions, of the journey she is about to make. This extraordinary decision she chooses challenges Holly in many ways, initially raising more questions than answers. But her strength of character and her pure determination drive her forward leading her down a very unexpected path, one strewn with obstacles and emotional stumbling blocks.

Cecelia Ahern has written a compassionate tale, a book that really touched me and I know it will have a huge impact on many others too.

‘It was such an emotional journey writing this story as that book (PS I Love You) changed my life, and it represents a very important time in my life. I wrote almost every word with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat…..I’d created the original story around Gerry’s letters, but there were so many more acts that people do – and decisions they make – before they leave the world. I wanted to further develop this thought and include Holly in the journey. It felt right immediately, it felt like a natural continuation of PS, and I knew that if I was ever going to write a sequel, then this was the story.’
– Cecelia Ahern

Postscript is a very sensitively written novel. Cecelia Ahern vividly portrays the hurt, the anger, the frustration, the pain and the fear of death but also the hope. All the characters portrayed in Postscript are very authentic, so very real, that it almost felt a privilege to be reading their story. Holly Kennedy is a beautiful caring person who has grown and is constantly growing from the experiences of life, and death, that she has had to manage. Cecelia Ahern has created a warm-hearted individual who has flaws and imperfections that make her just more adorable to all.

Postscript will resonate with many readers and for many different reasons. We will all unfortunately experience the death of a loved one. We will all carry our grief very differently but we must all be allowed to travel this journey in our own unique way.

‘A deeply emotional project for me, Postscript is the PS to my PS and while it is a sequel, it is also a story that stands alone about living a purposeful life in the face of illness, grief and loss. I hope that new readers and PS, I Love You fans alike will embrace Holly’s new journey.’
– Cecelia Ahern

Postscript is a remarkable and very meaningful book, a book that will stay with me for some time.

Highly recommend! (P.S. Tissues a necessity)

Now for those of you who may be lucky enough to be in a position to attend a very special event in Dublin this coming weekend check this out….

On Saturday, September 21, IMAGE presents a morning with Cecelia Ahern, brought to you by An Post, sponsor of the Irish Book Awards, in the beautiful surroundings of the Stella Theatre in Rathmines, Dublin for a special morning screening of P.S. I Love You.

The screening will be followed by Cecelia Ahern in conversation with IMAGE’s group brand director Rosaleen McMeel discussing Postscript, the much-anticipated sequel.

Find out everything you need to know about the new book, watch one of our favourites romantic flicks and have the ultimate girls’ Saturday out. Pre-signed copies of Postscript will be available for sale at the Stella.

Tickets are €30 and available from the Stella Theatre. So what are you waiting for? Get booking, as they’re moving fast.
👇
https://stellacinemas.ie/rathmines/event/a-morning-with-cecelia-ahern/

“The thread that links my work is in capturing that transitional period in people’s lives. I’m drawn to writing about loss, to characters that have fallen and who feel powerless in their lives. I am fascinated and inspired by the human spirit, by the fact that no matter how hopeless we feel and how dark life can be, we do have the courage, strength and bravery to push through our challenging moments.  We are the greatest warriors in our own stories. I like to catch my characters as they fall, and bring them from low to high. My characters push through and as a result evolve, become stronger and better equipped for the next challenge that life brings. I like to mix dark with light, sadness with humour, always keeping a balance, and always bringing the story to a place of hope.”
– cecelia-ahern.com