In Sophie Kinsella's new novella What Does It Feel Like?, Eve Monroe is an author working on a new book about which she feels less than motivated. Taking a break from writing while her husband has their five children out of the house, Eve decides to change things up and heads to a local coffee shop. On the way, Eve spots a dress in a shop window, falls in love with it after trying it on, and buys it. This inspires her to take a new direction with her book subject.
Flash forward in time and this book becomes a big hit for Eve. It's even being made into a movie. No surprise as she has a string of best sellers in her wake and has even had a couple movies made out of her novels. Eve's fabulous writing career, along with her wonderful, supportive husband and children, make Eve feel very lucky.
Flash forward in time again, and Eve is waking up in the hospital with no recollection of why she is there. Her husband explains to her that she has just come out of an eight-hour surgery to have a "growth" removed from her brain. Eve needs to learn how to walk again and write her name again. In the days and months after, Eve is often forgetful, and her husband has to tell her over and over that she has glioblastoma, an incurable type of brain cancer. Average time of survival after diagnoses is fourteen months.
As I was reading this, I began to have a sneaking suspicion that this might be autobiographical. All I had to do was get to the author's notes at the end to find out I was right. Ms. Kinsella has beautifully and bravely fictionalized her account of this unimaginable journey. Sophie Kinsella (which is the pen name of Madeleine Wickham under which she also has several successful novels) is known for her hilarious, upbeat, rom-com type novels that always have a happy ending (i.e. Shopaholic). What must it feel like to not be able to write her own happy ending?
At the end of the story, Eve is walking in a fundraiser with her family. When a walk marshal calls out, "Keep going!", Eve calls back, "OK! I'll keep going!"
Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeleine Wickham), God be with you and keep going. I give this very moving (and funny!) novella five stars out of five.
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