← Fiction

P.S. I Love You

by Cecelia Ahern

P.S. I Love You is the 2004 debut novel of Irish writer Cecelia Ahern. It follows Holly Kennedy, a young Dublin woman whose husband Gerry dies of a brain tumor while both are still in their early thirties. Consumed by grief… more

First published 2004 · 512 pages · English

29 quotes ★ 4.04 (400,696) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

Finding someone you love and who loves you back is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. But finding a true soul mate is an even better feeling. A soul mate is someone who understands you like no other, loves you like no other, will be there for you forever, no matter what. They say that nothing lasts forever, but I am a firm believer in the fact that for some, love lives on even after we're gone.
Shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you'll land among the stars
Don't be afraid to fall in love again. Open your heart and follow where it leads you...and remember, shoot for the moon.
what a luxury it was for people to hold their loved ones whenever they wanted
Their plan had been very simple: to stay together for the rest of their lives.
...God leads you to it and takes you through it.
Sometimes there is only one thing left to say, P. S. I Love You....
She was a woman who made mistakes, who sometimes cried on a Monday morning or at night alone in bed. She was a woman who often became bored with her life and found it hard to get up for work in the morning. She was a woman who more often than not had a bad hair day, who looked in the mirror and wondered why she couldn't just drag herself to the gym more often; she was a woman who sometimes questioned what reason had she to live on this planet. She was a woman who sometimes just got things wrong. On the other hand, she was a woman with a million happy memories, who knew what it was like to experience true love and who was ready to experience more life, more love and make new memories.
On the other hand, she was a women with a million happy memories, who knew what it was like to experience true love and who was ready to experience more life, more love and make new memories. Whether it happened in ten months or ten years, Holly would obey Gerry's final message. Whatever lay ahead, she knew she would open her heart and follow where it led. In the meantime, she would just live.
Finding someone you love and loves you back is a wonderful feeling. But finding a true soulmate is an even better feelin. A soulmate is someone who understands you like no other will be there for you forever no matter what.
She couldn't remember the last time she hugged someone, really hugged someone.
She needed to talk, she needed to cry, she needed to vent all her frustrations and disappointments.
Holly's theory about the army," Sharon explained. And what is it?" Denise asked, intrigued. Oh, that fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
Nobody's life is filled with perfect little moments. And if it were, they wouldn't be perfect little moments. They would just be normal. How would you ever know happiness if you never experience downs?
You gotta be rich to be insane, Hol. Losing your mind is not a luxury for the middle class.
Don't mind all those people who say that you should be back to normal in a month or two. Grieving is all part of helping yourself anyway.
Most of all she loved that when she hugged him her head would rest neatly just below his chin, where she could feel his breath lightly blowing her hair and tickling her head.
Seeming and being are not one and the same.
Her best friend was gone and nobody understood that no amount of makeup, fresh air or shopping was going to fill the hole in her heart.
And nobody had told them that they were short on time.
So many objects, so many memories. Each was being labelled and packed away in bags just as it was in her mind. To be stored in an area that would sometime be called upon to teach and help in future life.
Warring for peace is like screwing for virginity!!
One must not speak of such things. One is still scarred from that experience.
But Holly, nobody’s life is filled with perfect little moments. And if it were, they wouldn’t be perfect little moments. They would just be normal. How would you ever know happiness if you never experienced downs?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with returning to the house you grew up in every now and again. It's good for the soul.
what a luxury it was for people to be able to hold their loved ones whenever they wanted.
nobody's life is filled with perfect little moments. And if it were, they wouldn't be perfect little moments. They would just be normal. How would you ever know happiness if you never experienced downs?
Some people go through life searching and never find their soul mates. They never do. You and I did, we just happened to have them for a shorter period of time than we hoped for. It's sad, but it's life. So you go to this ball, Holly and you embrace the fact that you had someone whom you loved and who loved you back.
I don't know why men like to barbecue so much. Maybe its the only thing they can cook. Or maybe they're just closet pyromaniacs.

Did you know?

  • It was Cecelia Ahern's debut novel, written when she was twenty-one years old.
  • Ahern reportedly wrote the first draft of the book in about three months.
  • The novel reached number one on bestseller lists in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
  • It held the number one position in Ireland for nineteen weeks.
  • The title comes from the closing line of each of the ten letters left by the late husband, Gerry.
  • It was adapted into a 2007 romantic film starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.

About Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern is an Irish author born in Dublin in 1981. She published her debut novel, P.S. I Love You, in 2004 at the age of twenty-one, and has since become an internationally bestselling writer of contemporary fiction.

More about the author →

About the book

P.S. I Love You is the 2004 debut novel of Irish writer Cecelia Ahern. It follows Holly Kennedy, a young Dublin woman whose husband Gerry dies of a brain tumor while both are still in their early thirties. Consumed by grief, Holly withdraws from the world until she learns that Gerry, before his death, secretly prepared a series of ten letters for her, one to be opened each month of the year to come. Each note gently nudges her toward rebuilding her life, and every one closes with the words that give the book its title.

As Holly works through the messages, the novel becomes a story of mourning and gradual renewal. With the support of her close friends and her family, she takes small, sometimes clumsy steps back toward living: reconnecting with people, trying new things, and slowly imagining a future without the husband she loved. The book balances its sorrow with humor and warmth, treating grief not as a single event to overcome but as a long process of learning to carry loss.

Written when Ahern was just twenty-one, P.S. I Love You became an international bestseller, reaching number one in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, and holding the top spot in Ireland for nineteen weeks. It launched Ahern's career as a popular novelist and was adapted into a 2007 Hollywood film. Its enduring appeal lies in its central conceit, the idea that love, and the guidance of someone we have lost, can reach us even after they are gone.

Key characters

  • Holly KennedyYoung widow and protagonist rebuilding her life after loss
  • Gerry ClarkHolly's beloved husband, who dies of a brain tumor and leaves ten letters
  • Sharon McCarthyHolly's loyal best friend
  • Denise HennesseyHolly's close friend
  • Daniel ConnollyA pub owner who becomes part of Holly's new life
  • Elizabeth KennedyHolly's supportive mother

Book details

First published
2004
Length
512 pages
Reading time
9 hours
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
4.04 (401k ratings)

Movie & TV adaptations

  • IMDb
    P.S. I Love You 2007

    Romantic film directed by Richard LaGravenese, starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler

If you liked this, read…

  1. 1
    One DayA bittersweet love story shadowed by loss and the passage of time
  2. 2
    Me Before YouEmotional contemporary fiction about love, grief, and moving forward
  3. 3
    The Time Traveler's WifeA tender story of love enduring beyond separation and death

Keep reading