A Painful Post Mortem - Humour, Pain, Characterisation, Existential Angst

I received this book as a birthday present after seeing it reviewed somewhere I can't now recall...sorry. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed...yes, enjoyed it. It has everything...humour, pain, characterisation, existential angst...the way you write about Faith and God is just incredible and has really helped me at a difficult time....I am pregnant and facing death from cancer...according to Dr..prognosis about a year...baby is 24 weeks. I have also just relativel returned from a week in Leeds with my fathers inquest. And, I worked for a long time with drug and alcohol abuse...so everything...I love the way you change the tense so seamlessly. I work now for CRUSE Bereavement Care and a Child Bereavement Charity and I would like to put you book on to our requred reading for a students if that would be OK. I have been out of hospital for 3 weeks...reading text has been hard but I have been gripped and I read it in 2 nights...yes, I was awake most of both but so worth it. I look forward to getting you other books....CHOSEN sounds great too.
Many Thanks

Lydia

Mel's Comment:

Dear Lydia, What can I say but thank you so much for your e-mail. I read it aloud, and wept. To think that you, faced with all you’re faced with, should be writing to me in praise of my book! It just seemed totally surreal. I couldn’t stop crying at the thought of what you so glibly describe as ‘a difficult time’ for you. My husband asked which particular part of my book might have helped you and I said I couldn’t imagine. But, I said, I do know that God can take words, ordinary words, and breathe meaning and inspiration into them which are entirely his work. My words are merely one of the means by which he conveys his comfort and strength to others. I pray that he will make himself very real, very close, and very comforting to you, and that you will know his strength day by day. Mel