Review – The Last Love Note

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
Published by Penguin Books on 24/01/2023
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal book collection

Kate Whittaker is pushing forward through life after the loss of her beloved husband Cameron. Despite strong relationships with her mother, best friend Grace, workmates including her empathetic boss Hugh, and others, Kate is raising her son Charlie and experiencing the joys and challenges of life alone instead of sharing it all with Cameron. What should her future look like now that Cameron can’t be part of it, and what happens to all the hopes and dreams they shared?

Drawing from her own experience after the loss of her husband, The Last Love Note by Emma Grey (Penguin, 2023) paints such a real and impactful portrait of what it means to lose not only a person you love, but also the framework for how you picture yourself and your future. It spoke to me as someone who has had a marriage fall apart and lost connection with extended family, and it’s as much about adapting and adjusting to events that impact how we see ourselves and our place in the world as it is about the loss of a person we love.

The Last Love Note brought me to tears at times, as well as regularly making me laugh out loud. It reassured me that there is hope for recovery from devastating loss and trauma, as much as it reminded me that that recovery involves choices on my part to take risks be vulnerable. It encourages us to value the past, but not hold on to it so tightly that we don’t leave room for new people, experiences and dreams. It’s a reminder that even in the darkest times, life can be unexpectedly hilarious and random.

I know the author and wasn’t surprised that The Last Love Note is well written and entertaining, or that it manages to convey the complexities of deep grief in such a real and meaningful way. I was surprised that it spoke to me so strongly and left me with a renewed sense of hope that I can find purpose and contentment after my own life fell apart in a very different way. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an enjoyable work of contemporary fiction that is nuanced and has depth, but particularly recommend it to anyone who wants to gain insight into the complexities of dealing with grief and personal loss of all kinds. This story will break your heart but will also fill you with hope that healing is possible and life after loss is still a life worth living.