Stella works as a night nurse in a hospice and rehabilitation center in London. Part of what she does is write final letters from dying patients to family or friends or, in one case, an extremely annoying neighbor. Her promise is that these letters will be mailed only after the patient has passed away.
Through Stella and the hospice and the letters she writes, we meet:
Stella herself who is struggling with the changes to her husband and marriage after he returns from Afghanistan severely injured.
Hope who at 21 has used her diagnosis of cystic fibrosis to stay closed in on herself.
Hugh who still lives in his family home years after his mother committed suicide and his beloved father passed away.
Grace, newly admitted to the hospice, whose last letter causes Stella to rethink her promise not to mail it until after Grace passes.
Jake, the cat, whose many lives bind everyone together.
All of these people are hiding from themselves and others. Over the course of the book, they meet themselves head on and deal with issues that they have been avoiding.
I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't wait to see how it would end. What could have been a sad and depressing book is far from it. I look forward to reading other books by this author.
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