“There are some people in this world to whom things happen. I am not one of them. I lead an ordinary life. I do regular things. That’s not to say my life is boring, but it’s not a life full of big ‘you won’t believe what happened to me’ stories, either. Until now. When this happened. Honestly, it really did…”
Death and Other Happy Endings
By Melanie Cantor
Source: Advance review copy
Jennifer is sitting at her doctor’s office and he’s just told her she has a rare blood disorder which is aggressive and untreatable. She was completely unprepared for the news given that she is only 43 years old and was only just feeling bloated and tired. Surely it could be some other diagnosis but there it is, she now has three months left to live.
Stunned, she leaves the doctors office and rather than thinking of a bucket list of things she needs to do before the end, she decides to instead write three very honest and heartfelt letters to the people that have hurt her the most. Her sister, her ex-husband and her ex-boyfriend.
Yes, there are scenes where Jennifer is crying and bemoaning her fate and but many others where she decides to throw caution to the wind and have some fun. She has a wonderful best friend who is there to rally around her and it seems her letters have some very positive consequences.
Really liked Jennifer and could understand why she dealt with some of the people in her life the way she did. What I had a hard time with was her accepting her fate without more questions but then again, I guess then we wouldn’t have a story. So, you do have to gloss over that aspect and enjoy the story-telling.
This sounds like a thought-provoking read.
I’m not sure writing letters to people would be my first response in her situation, but it does sound like it makes for a good book.
Yeah I find it weird that she was more obsessed with writing these letters to people who hurt than, say, fighting back or doing other things, but I guess the book finds a way to explain her character and her choices. .
Glad you enjoyed this one overall. I wonder about the letters and what happened due to her writing them.