A review by mhugie2
I Wanted You To Know by Laura Pearson

5.0

What do you tell your baby daughter when you know you are dying? What life lessons can you impart when you know you will not be there to see her grow up. How do you fit a life's worth of love, advice and stories in a series of letters? I Wanted You to Know is a heart-breaking series of letters from Jess to her young daughter, Edie. Jess is dying of cancer and there is so much that she wants to tell Edie - everything. How she came to be, how to fall in love, and how to forgive when you fall out of it. This is a story of love and a life cut far too short.

I Wanted You to Know is one of the best written books I have ever read, I felt every single word. Each one ate at my heart and fed my soul. It was beautiful, but completely destroyed me emotionally. There were multiple points in this book that I just sat down and cried. I felt everything that Jess was feeling, even when I didn't agree with her - maybe even especially when I didn't agree with her. This was a love story in the truest sense, not only about the love shared between mother and daughter, but the love found between friends and messy, romantic love.

The way the author wrote through Jess' eyes and how you got to experience her cancer journey was so raw and real. She, and in turn you, go through all the emotions with being given a death sentence. There is so much grief and anger, but mostly this is a book about love. I can honestly say that I have never had a book affect me the way this one did, and those affects are staying with me.

The only reasons to not read this book is if you are not in a place to read about death, cancer or any of the very difficult and real topics covered.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. As someone who has lost family members to cancer, including a step-mom, it hit so close to home. I think this book is a masterpiece and I will never not recommend it. Laura Pearson has created something unforgettable with this novel and I feel privileged to have been able to read an ARC.