Jennifer Cole has just been told that she has a terminal blood disorder and has just three months to live--ninety days to say goodbye to friends and family, and to put her affairs in order. Ninety days to come to terms with a diagnosis that is unfair, unexpected, and completely unpronounceable. Focusing on the positives (she won't have to go on in a world without Bowie or Maya Angelou; she won't get Alzheimer's or Parkinson's like her parents, or have teeth that flop out at the mere mention of the word apple), Jennifer realizes she only has one real regret: the relationships she's lost.
Rather than running off to complete a frantic bucket list, Jennifer chooses to stay put and write a letter to the three most significant people in her life, to say the things she wished she'd said before but never dared: her overbearing, selfish sister, her jelly-spined, cheating ex-husband, and her charming, unreliable ex-boyfriend--and finally tell them the truth.
At first, Jennifer feels cleansed by her catharsis. Liberated, even. Her ex-boyfriend rushes to her side and she even starts to build bridges with her sister Isabelle (that is, once Isabelle's confirmed that Jennifer's condition isn't genetic). But once you start telling the truth, it's hard to stop. And as Jennifer soon discovers, the truth isn't always as straightforward as it seems, and death has a way of surprising you....
Author Interview
It seems like women over fifty are having it all these days, re-writing the rules and living life on their own terms. You are certainly an example of this. Tell us what led to you becoming a published writer at the age of sixty-two.
Since a child, I have always enjoyed storytelling but there was no way I ever thought I would become a writer. It simply wasn’t an option for me. My mother wanted me to be a good wife and mother (like her) but my father wanted me to be a PR (a Public Relations Officer which in the US I believe you would call a publicist)—funny that he was the one who encouraged me to pursue a career, although not funny if you knew him. He was an artist. He could have become a penniless one but in order to feed his family, he put his talent into graphic design. Working in below the line advertising, often for fashion brands, the majority of his clients were women PRs. He thought it would be a good career for me. At 19, I started life as a secretary (my mother’s idea) but, being well behaved I soon followed the path my father had encouraged. After a few false starts, in 1978, I landed a job working in theatre PR, which I loved. This then led to television (I was the press officer who helped launch commercial breakfast television in the UK in 1983) which in turn led to becoming a TV presenters’ agent. In the rollercoaster years that followed, there was no time to think about becoming a writer but the itch was there and I was always scribbling some idea or another. Finally, in 2008, having been successful as an agent, I decided to dedicate myself full time to becoming a writer, which no longer seemed beyond my reach—little did I know how many years in the wilderness lay ahead. But, I got there and am so proud of DEATH AND OTHER HAPPY ENDINGS.
You were discovered on a subway platform in London and featured in Dove’s campaign. How did you get your style? Has that changed as you’ve gotten older? And explain “the power of red lippy”!
Both my parents enjoyed clothes and passed that interest onto me (my brother does not share that interest so it wasn’t a given!). My mother was more classic, my father flamboyant: I think I merged the two! As soon as I could legally earn money, I got a Saturday job and that wage immediately went into clothes. Not much has changed, although with more money in my pocket, my taste has improved and my style evolved. Having been single for six years has also been quite liberating. I dress for no one but myself and in so doing I have found who I am. I have never consciously defied age but realize now, thanks to the number of times I am stopped by women saying they love my style, that being in your sixties and happily wearing color is not necessarily the norm! It should be! There is a notion that women over fifty disappear. We don’t have to. We should wear whatever makes us feel happy, whatever colors make us smile. There is no such thing as age appropriate, just you appropriate. I think that was why I was spotted by the Dove scout. For the same reason, I am a big fan of the red lip. If there are two things I think are important about face make-up in your later years, I would say eyebrows and lips are essential. I never go out without having put on these two. Including when I walk Mabel my dog. She won’t be seen dead with me if I look like the walking dead and trust me without my red lips and dark eyebrows, I disappear. Wherever I am, you will see me coming but hopefully for all the right reasons.
Read more with Melanie Cantor after the page break.
