P.S. I Love You

Holly is still picking up the pieces after her husband’s death.  High school sweethearts, they were together over a year when Gerry was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Now, Holly is stuck feeling like she can’t move forward while her friends and family all move on.  She has taken to staying in and avoiding her friends and family and their joy at life.  When her parents call her about a package for her at their house, she reluctantly heads over to pick it up.  What she finds when the package is opened will change her outlook and her entire future.

Cecelia Ahern’s best selling novel P.S. I Love You is widely recognized because of the movie staring Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank released in 2007.  While the screenplay writers took some liberties with the plot and characters, it is generally true to Ahern’s work – the loss, grief, and learning to move on are central to both.  This is really a book about how to support our loved ones in hard times and how to give ourselves grace through our own difficult moments.

---

I give P.S. I Love You 4 out of 5 stars.  I watched this movie when it first came out without realizing there was a book inspiring it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the differences in the two!  I really enjoyed this book and it was an easy read, even with the difficult topic of spousal loss.  However, there are romcom aspects of the novel that verge on Hallmark movie territory.  I also had trouble connecting to some of Holly’s family members – better character development there could have helped.  With that said, I was surprised with the ending and loved how Ahern focused not only on Holly’s struggles, but that of the entire cast of characters – it gave it a very real and life-like feel!

---

If you liked the movie, you’re going to love the book!  I would recommend this book for romcom lovers, romance novels, and family drama readers.  I would also recommend this for readers recovering from loss – while every journey is different, sometimes it’s nice to see we aren’t alone.  With themes of loss and romance, I would direct this novel to readers over the age of 13 – it’s not explicit, but there are references to sexual encounters that may not be appropriate for younger audiences.  This would also make a great book club selection where Holly’s decisions and encounters could be discussed with the group.

I chose P.S. I Love You for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “set in Ireland”.  There are some other great options set in Ireland you might like.  If you like books like this, try any books written by Maeve Binchy – they are almost exclusively set in Ireland and are wonderfully relatable stories about situations families and neighbors in small Irish communities!

This post contains affiliate links.

What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Flowers on Main, Sherryl Woods
• Current audio book: Play Dirty, Lora Leigh
• Book I’m most looking forward to: The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller