Postscript is the sequel to PS, I Love You, which in itself is a great book, (if you've not yet read you should, but if you haven't it doesn't affect reading of this book as the prologue gives you the brief on the initial book.) The book is based around Holly Kennedy, who seven years previously lost the love of her life, Gerry, to cancer. On knowing his cancer was terminal, Gerry arranged, with the help of family and friends, for a letter to be sent to Holly each month, after his passing, with ways to encourage/aide Holly to find ways with moving on with life without him by her side. Postscript starts seven years after Gerry's passing, six years after the final letter. Holly is with a new partner Gabriel, cautiously living life when her sister Ciara asks her to do a podcast about the secret gift her husband Gerry gave her after he passed. This was what Holly would hope to be the last time she'd need to bring back the memories of those personal letters, relive the loss. Listeners loved the podcast soo much, it inspired them to setup a group named PS, I Love You, which Holly is reluctant to join. When I saw there was going to be a sequel to PS, I Love You, I was looking forward to seeing where it would take Holly. This was my favorite of Cecelia Aherns books, filled with humour and emotion, Postscript has that same emotion and humour, told from Hollys perspective throughout, it takes you from the present and reminiscing to times with Gerry. Another moving read from Cecila Ahern.

I loved the original but this was so refreshing and a total different direction to the first novel in the sequence. Since the death of Gerry, Holly has been struggling to move on. She has met a new man Gabriel and things are ticking along but one day after doing a podcast with her sister about the PS I love you letters a lady approaches her to ask if she could come to their club of the same name. Holly is bemused but goes along and finally she finds a chance to help others with their lives, loves, death and healing. It is also a process she begins to fully undertake herself by giving to others. This was such an uplifting yet heart wrenching read, this was definitely a sequel that needed to be told to continue Holly's journey. One of my favourite read so far this year.

"In one second, almost two and a half million emails are sent, the universe expands fifteen kilometres and thirty stars explode, a honey bee can flap its wings two hundred times, the fastest snail travels 1.3 centimetres, objects can fall sixteen feet, and 'Will you marry me?' can change a life. Four babies are born. Two people die. One second can be the difference between life and death." Poignant, emotive and uplifting, Postscript is a story of life, death, love and hope. Exquisitely written, it tackles the difficult topics of death and grief with sensitivity and candour and also gives hope in its message of the power of love and healing. The story picks up seven years after the death of Holly's husband, Gerry, and six years after she read the last of the ten letters he left for her to read after he passed. Holly is trying to move on with her life. She's working at a vintage clothing shop, Magpie, with her sister Cara and has been dating Gabriel for two years, who she worries she’s using as a stop-gap until she can be reunited with Gerry once more. But that isn't who she wants to be. So she finally agrees to move in with him and begin to move forward. "We all have something that unexpectedly derails us when we are motoring smoothly, blissfully, ardently. This encounter with the club is mine. And it hurts." Meanwhile Ciara has a podcast series called How To Talk About and has asked Holly to take part in the episode How To Talk About Death. Reluctantly, Holly agrees. The crowd are particularly interested in Gerry's letters and some people express that they wish their loved ones had left them letters like he did for Holly. One lady in particular is keen for Holly to keep sharing her story and maybe even write a book. She keeps coming into the shop and Holly tries to evade her thinking she's a bit of a stalker. When she learns the woman is part of something called the PS I Love You Club she's had enough. But in time she begins to connect with the small group and help them as they try to leave behind a small piece of themselves for their loved ones to cherish, changing not only their lives, but hers too as she begins to re-examine what Gerry’s letters meant and what they could continue to mean. What a book! I read PS I Love You when it was first released and was both thrilled and apprehensive when I learned that there was to be a sequel. Would it live up to the emotive power of the first book? It didn’t take long to realise that my concerns were unfounded. Postscript exceeded all my expectations and even surpassed the first book for me. I fell in love with the author’s writing style all over again. She knows just how to stir emotion, how to break your heart one moment and then make you laugh the next. The vivid imagery and metaphors were spectacular and I couldn’t put this book down. "We want to control our deaths, our goodbye to the world, and if we can't control it, we can at least control how we leave it behind." For me, the best parts of this book were Holly’s interactions with the members of the PS, I Love You Club. They are an eclectic group whose commonality is they’ve all been diagnosed with a terminal or life-long, degenerative illness. Joy has MS and is preparing for life in a wheelchair, losing her ability to communicate and needing a feeding tube, Bert has emphysema, Paul is in remission from a brain tumor for the second time but is preparing for it possibly returning, and teenager Ginka has cervical cancer. They all have their own reasons for wanting to leave parts of themselves behind and each teach Holly something different about life, love and grief. Amongst this group Holly slowly finds a safe harbour where she can talk about Gerry without worrying she’s making them uncomfortable or having to edit what she says. The story and character that touched me the most was Ginka. She’s just sixteen-years-old and is a single mother to baby Jewel. She has no family - they disowned her after she announced her pregnancy and cruelly told her that the cancer is God’s punishment for her sins - and lives with the heartbreak of knowing there’s no one who knows to care for Jewel and tell her about the mother who adored her. She’s practically a child herself yet is facing more pain and hardship than most of us can imagine. As a mother the idea of strangers raising my children would be terrifying. The relationship that develops between Ginka and Holly was my favourite and I loved their scenes together. Her story is just one example of this author’s magnificent talent for writing characters and stories that reach into your soul. This novel was a truly breathtaking read that reminded me why Cecelia Ahern is such a beloved author. She tackles a difficult subject in a beautiful and powerful way and reminds us to cherish every moment with those we love. I highly recommend this book and don’t think you need to have read the first one to enjoy it.

I had the most unexpected and delightful surprise the other day, when the publisher granted me a gift copy of this book, via Netgalley. I’ve just finished reading it and I am still mesmerised. As I said, it’s never easy to write a sequel to a huge hit, but the author did it brilliantly and she produced a moving, heartbreaking, heart- warming story. An emotional rollercoaster that had me sobbing (and cheering, too) all throughout it. Exactly like P.S. I Love You, I know I will be reading this book again and again. I truly hope a film is made, too. With many thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Netgalley for a gift e-copy.

This is the sequel to PS, I Love You and its seven years since Gerry's death and six years since Holly read his final letter to her. Holly has moved on with her life and is now with Gabriel. Holly is also helping her sister Ciara, in her vintage clothing shop and this is where they meet Angela Carberry. Unfortunately unknown to them Angela is dying from cancer, after her funeral Holly meets a group of other people who also don't have much longer to live and want to start their own PS I love you letters club and want to enlist Hollys help. This starts off a chain of events where Holly helps other people, complete strangers, who then become friends, even in their darkest days she is there for them, helping them make decisions about the future, a future without them, in the form of individual messages. This is a book about friendship, relationships, sorrow and happiness, everyday life and planning for what the future holds. It has tender moments and harrowing moments but always there is hope, friends and complete strangers to carry on through both the bad and good times. Sometimes things don't always go to plan, you can't plan for emotions and sorrow, but kindness shines through from the letters, as Holly does her best for all her new friends. You will laugh, you will cry but one thing is, it will make you think, about your own family and friends, your own life and make sure you tell them that you love them while you still can. This book will be lapped up by Cecilia Aherns many fans and I am sure that it will be as popular as the first book.