"I feel pretty melodramatic writing you a letter to
open on the day of my burial. According to Dr. Saunders I have a pretty decent
chance of beating this thing, but you know
me; I don't trust doctors. No harm in starting this journal, you know,
just in case. I've always wanted to try
my hand at writing; maybe this will be my first step toward finally writing the
novel dancing around my brain for the past ten years. They say write what you know, right? Apparently I
know cancer and we are not friends."........
This bittersweet tale takes place in Farmington, Michigan. Luke and wife, Natalie, and their children; Nine year old May, Will, their 14 year old son, and three year old Clayton. The
story begins on the day of Natalie's funeral . Later that day after returning
home, he finds the first of what will be a series of letters from her. The
thought of the letters coming gives him something to lean on, a little hope.
Her love for her family carries on after her death. Her
words give him strength he needs until he can pick up the pieces of the new
life he never wanted. Natalie left him a true gift. She is teaching her husband
to help her family go on without her.
Where are the letters coming from though? They're arriving
regularly in the mail. The pain of losing her is so hard on all of them. A heartbreaking story, but at the same time it's the story of a mother's
love. Luke is living by the letters.
Afraid not to and afraid to let go. He doesn't follow every detail exactly but
he fears not having them or the day they stop. He brings the people who were
important to Natalie into their lives trying to honor her wishes.
The twists come when Natalie's secrets come to light as the
letters and life goes on. Slowly things are revealed. Tragic secrets and
surprises come so quickly that I couldn't stop reading this story. Emotional,
as a parent knowing you're going to die and leave the people you love. Suspenseful, while trying to figure out what secrets people close to them are
keeping from Luke and the kids. A story of how a whole other life and world
existed for someone you shared your life
with. Will Natalie's letters lead Luke on a road to healing and moving on
without her? Or will the secrets crush him?
Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing
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