Love and light,
Emma x
Emma Hannigan valued her readers beyond words. When Emma received the news from her doctors about her final diagnosis, she wanted to share her thoughts with her readers. She posted this blog two weeks before she passed away.
16/2/2018
All Good Things Must Come to an End . . .
The time that I knew was borrowed must be given back soon, so it seems.
The conversation I never wanted to have has been said.
My medical team have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this fight but all avenues have now been exhausted.
To say that I am heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover it.
But I feel I’d like to say something; after all, that’s what I’ve done over the years – say stuff, write stuff and tell you what’s going down. So I feel it wouldn’t be fair to leave you out in the cold right now.
I’ve gained such strength from all of you. We’ve shared tips and hints and stories over the years. For all of it – thank you.
Thank you for taking my hand when I needed it most and for posting all sorts from doggy snaps to moggy pics and the rest.
We’ve made a great team.
I have a new book out. I’m immensely proud of it and it’s titled Letters to my Daughters.
Usually I’d spend the next few weeks chatting about it and inevitably daring to wonder if you like it. Because this is the time when all authors want to hide in the back of the wardrobe in case nobody likes their new baby! I won’t need to hide unfortunately, but I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
These characters were as real to me as all the others. They grew on me and some annoyed me at times, but as always, they were mine. Enjoy them, curl up with some chocolate or some comfort food and a cup or a glass of whatever tickles your fancy.
Faced with very little time can I tell you what screams out at me? Love.
Nothing else has much meaning anymore. Just the love I feel for the people I hold dear. My two babies (okay, they both tower over me, but I’m still allowed to call them my babies), my husband, my parents, my family, my friends and readers. Yes, you guys are up there on the short list. You’ve been an integral part of my existence and have championed me and held me in your virtual arms.
The love in my heart is all that matters now. I am broken-hearted at having to say goodbye so if it’s alright we’ll say farewell instead . . .
Mind each other. Be kind to each other and hold those you love close by.
Life is so very precious. We never know the day or hour that it will be whipped away. So fill your days with as much happiness as you can muster.
Stay away from drains. We all know them; they’re the people who pull the good out of everything. The ones who suck the beauty from things and change colour to black and white. Leave them to fester – I think they’re secretly enjoying being grim.
Instead, gravitate towards the light and laughter. Like a moth to a flame, remembering not to get your pretty wings burned. You’ll like it better there, I promise.
Farewell and thank you, I am taking a bow. Until we meet again may all that is good and decent be yours.
Love and light,
Emma x
Discover more heartwarming novels from Emma Hannigan
Throughout their lives, the three Brady sisters have always been closer to their nanny May than to their own mother Martha, a busy midwife. May always thought of them as her daughters so when she dies suddenly, the sisters are left devastated – especially when they learn that letters intended for them from May with final words of advice and love have gone missing.
But what words of advice could the sisters need?
Beatrice, owner of exclusive wedding boutiques, is busy and fulfilled. Rose has a beautiful daughter, a luxurious home and a thriving interiors company. And Jeannie, married to a wealthy plastic surgeon in L.A., wants for nothing.
Except that each of the sisters carries a secret . . .
As they gather for the reading of May’s will, they must face some life-changing decisions. Will they ever learn the words of advice May had for them and discover who took the letters?
Restoring a romantic, crumbling villa brings Shelly back to the small Spanish village she and her husband Gerry fell in love with before they married – fulfilling a wedding-day promise he made to her that they would return. But as plans to transform the villa into a stunning wedding venue take shape, Shelly discovers that her grown-up children might need the new move more than she does.
Jake has begun to question the things he values most: his career as a pilot, his relationship with his girlfriend Fee. Could Spain offer him the change he’s desperately seeking?
And when Leila arrives in Spain with a newborn baby in tow, she soon finds herself getting caught up in the fledgling business. But then she hears some startling news she wasn’t expecting . . .
As Casa Maria takes its first booking, will it turn out to be more than a romantic promise made all those years ago? Perhaps a second chance at new beginnings?
When Róisín returned home from France to the seaside village of Ballyshore heartbroken, she threw herself into fulfilling her lifelong dream of running her own artisan café. Five years on, her love life is still on ice but Nourriture, her café and delicatessen, is thriving.
But then, on her thirtieth birthday, Róisín receives two pieces of unexpected news which shake her to her core: a letter from her birth mother, a woman she’s never met, and some devastating news about her business.
Meanwhile, the one person Róisín has always turned to, her adoptive mum Keeley, is hiding her own secret.
The two women must face truths about the past. Will they discover that the gift of love between a mother and a daughter is the most precious gift of all?
The Gift of Friends Page 39
