Book details

To lose someone close to you is a terrible tragedy and those who are left behind often wish they could have known more about the thoughts and feelings of the person they lost prior to their death. For those involved in conflicts, who have a terminal illness or who are contemplating suicide, a letter to their loved one who remains is a way of communicating their emotion and leaves behind a potent, tangible reminder; it is a gift to ease emotional suffering. In this compelling and heart-rending collection, author Rose Rouse has brought together a selection of moving and emotional last letters to loved ones. There are achingly innocent yet extremely loving letters from twenty something soldiers who died in Iraq; there are profoundly affecting letters from those who are fatally ill who need to say goodbye to partners, parents or children; and there are letters from death row which naturally sometimes carry a more embittered tone. 22-year-old gunner Lee Thornton from Blackpool was shot on patrol in Basra in 2006. Before he died, he wrote a touching letter to his fiancee, Helen, saying 'You have shown me what love is and what it feels like to be loved.' Captain E F Lubbock was a pilot in World War One. He wrote his last letter to his mother in November 1915, with strict instructions for it to be sent only in the event of his death. Sadly, it had to be posted. He begs his mother to 'try not to let it be too great a blow to you, try and conquer your own sorrow and to live cheerfully.'This deeply moving yet uplifting book is an amazing insight into the complexity of human emotions. It is a celebration of life, love and the triumph of the human spirit.

Rose Rouse is a journalist who lives in North West London with her 20-year-old son, Marlon. For the past 25 years, she's written about everything from jazz eccentric Sun Ra in Harlesden, to rave parties in Goa, and from bellydancing in Turkey to fathers' relationships with their teenage sons, for publications like the Face, the Guardian and the Daily Express. She prides herself on her eclecticism and intends to carry on writing about anything and everything. Her previous books include Missing.