A captivating, riveting and beautiful read—simply put, it effortlessly makes one fall in love all over again……subtly conveying a message, that true love is extremely crucial, and that one has to learn to value it; not just value it, but live it every moment, because you never know there just might not be a tomorrow……….

A tale of saga and loneliness; pain and tears, yet with a subtle overtone of hope and overabundant love–. P.S I Love You is all this and much more.

It is about a young Irish widow named Holly Kennedy, whose husband passes away due to brain tumor. All her life, all that she’s done is love her soul mate Gerry, as they together had taken vows to spend a lifetime together, until fate had something else lined up for Gerry…..

She had known nothing as beautiful and as cherishing as their bond together; their love, their cordial relationship, their intrinsic friendship, their petty squabbles, their absolute unconditional love for one another itself defined her every breath …All her life had revolved around Gerry. And then amidst all this overflowing bliss, one day she loses Gerry forever. ……

Nothing excites Holly anymore. She’s been a job hopper all her life, trying her hands at small jobs here and there, only to see herself quitting and repenting her career decisions later. So she hasn’t been much of a career woman herself. So indeed, it was just Gerry on whom she’d literally devoted her whole life, and now that she’s faced with his untimely death, she’s shattered completely into pieces; helpless, with a BIG question mark haunting her, as to how she’d pass every single day, in fact every second of the future without Gerry by her side.

For over a year Gerry is bed ridden as he fights a lonely and lost battle against brain tumor. He knows his end would come soon, and hence he decides to gift his beloved a lifetime of memories— Letters handwritten by him addressing Holly; one letter for each month, covering twelve months, the duration which he knew would be the most difficult and painful phase for his wife, she sitting alone trying hard to cope up with her life sans him.

Holly doesn’t know a bit about these letters, and when she does come to know about them, she’s awestruck. She’s eternally thankful to Gerry because it is those precious letters which guide her and navigate her through the months following Gerry’s demise.

The letters are written in a communicative flow, as if Gerry is standing right there in front of Holly, trying to converse with her, trying to convince her on doing certain things. So from things like recommending her to buy herself a new bedside lamp, just in case she topples over in the dark, to things like making her do a Karaoke singing stint at a local club, to pushing her to let go off his possessions at their home- like distributing his stuff away, to booking a getaway for her and her two closest friends in a faraway country…..his letters just bring her back to life, after the mammoth pain that she’s engulfed with after his death.

Her lively family- mom, dad, sister and brothers, her two closest friends Sharon and Denise lend her an amazingly supportive hand, ear and shoulder as they tirelessly help her cope with her inexplicable grief. In days following Gerry’s death, Holly comes to realize that it isn’t merely she who’s lost a partner, but even Gerry’s parents have lost their only son, Gerry’s closest friends have lost a dear friend…so it’s everyone around her who in their own way are trying to come to terms with the new-found grief.

Holly also realizes that her sorrow gets onto people. It’s like a contagious thing, which she passes on to people around her. So thus, slowly yet surely, Holly comes to terms with her new life. A realization seeps into her that she needn’t affect her surroundings by all the time bearing a grim face and psyche. Though, this change does take its own time.

One of the altering events which happens in Holly’s life eventually is when one of Gerry’s last of the bunch letters persuades her onto getting a new job. This was something which Holly had never been good and consistent at. She’d been a mega job hopper all her life, with not having being able to stick to any one particular line of stream and job all these years. However, this time round, Gerry instructs her through the letter to just give her best shot and pursue her dream job. Holly had never been a dreamer when it came to career and jobs.

But this time, it was Gerry’s letter, so she knew she had to show persistence and patience and hunt the job she’d love. With a spark in her eyes and hope in her heart she attends an interview at an advertising firm, and ultimately ends up earning the job. In the process of getting back to work, she thus gets a little busier and occupied, mentally and psychologically.

In the course of time, Holly changes her sour relationship with her eldest brother and she also becomes close to her youngest sister. Time had made her grow and mature as an individual, and thus she learns to become more empathetic towards her own siblings.

Towards the concluding chapters of the book, one of her close friends whom she had met for the first time in Hogan’s pub, with whom she felt absolutely herself all these months since Gerry’s passing away, he proposes her to marry him.However, Holly shows her reluctance to get into any new relationships, because it was Gerry and only Gerry who had that place in her life.

One instance which touches Holly’s heart is when Sharon, her best friend who’s pregnant declares to her that she and John, her husband and Gerry’s dearest friend, had decided to name their yet to be born son as Gerry. There are moments like these which fill Holly’ heart with inexplicable emotions.

It is the thought going on behind sick Gerry’s mind, when he feels like writing such wonderful letters to his wife, the very concept of this storyline is something which catches the reader instantly and lingers on throughout the book. Twelve letters for complete twelve months, to help Holly pick up her life’s pieces and move on, as if they are absolute guiding lights, which show a saddened Holly a new light, new directions, and newer paths, helping her to rebuild, rejuvenate and revive.

The timing of the letters when they fall into her hands is the most crucial element; because that is the time Holly really needs that kind of guidance on coping with the sudden grief that has engulfed her. And what better way to cope than getting Gerry’s handwritten letters reading P.S.I Love You, a treasure which taught Holly in a way, to live life all over.

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