Letting Go
Letting Go is about a woman who loses her best friend to suicide. Along the way, she meets someone who tries to help her move on.
This novel started as me wanting to work through some personal issues. I also wanted to find a way to explain some things that people didn’t understand. Especially about suicide. Too often we hear about people grieving the loss of someone through this and blaming themselves.
It needs to be said. It’s not about blame. Often there’s no real rhyme or reason to it. Just that the person can no longer shut out the negative thoughts that can lead to them taking that action.
I chose to take a different approach and write it from a first person point of view. The hardest thing about that though is that I was writing from the perspective of someone who loses a loved one through suicide.
When you battle mental health issues, the most difficult thing is putting yourself in the mind of someone who doesn’t have them. I had to really think about how someone would feel watching another person go through those battles.
Suicide is not an easy subject to talk about. It’s not an easy thing to read. So I knew I had to structure the novel in such a way that it would give someone hope.
I did get a review on the story. The reviewer felt there was no depth to the characters and the flashbacks were too much. They also didn’t like the romance aspect.
The objection I have to the review is that the romance was only a small part. It was in essence the way it helped the main character let go. As for the flashbacks, I felt they were necessary to paint a picture of the friendship that was a big part of the plot.
A couple of years ago, I gave the novel to someone. They lent it to someone else who told me they loved my unique method of using journals to chronicle the journey. They thought that method was extremely effective.
My mother has also read the story and thought it was the best thing I’d ever done.
What really clinched it for me was someone who had lost a family member this way loved the story. I will never know if it helped them move on, but I like to think that it did.
About The Author
