You may claim that you do not believe in love; you might refuse to be capable of loving more than one person; you might not even believe in destiny or meant-to-be. But, you know that somewhere deep down, you are hoping to be proven wrong. You’re hoping for a miracle and for another chance at love. If you still want to deny it, then let me tell you this beautiful story of how destiny works.
Spouses of two best-selling authors, Paul Kalanithi and Nina Riggs, fall in love with each other after losing the love of their lives.
Paul, then 37, and Nina, then 39, both suffered from different forms of cancer and they decided to pen down their experience during the final days of their lives.
Both books, ‘When Breath Becomes Air‘ and ‘The Bright Hour‘ were published posthumously in 2016 and 2017 consecutively. They became critically acclaimed best-seller novels and were mentioned in several lists together.
Paul passed away in 2015 and Nina in 2017. Before she died, however, she asked her husband John Duberstein to contact Lucy Kalanithi, Paul’s wife, saying she has experience in coping with grief after Paul’s death.
Posted by Lucy Goddard Kalanithi on Monday, September 8, 2014
Lucy and Nina had become acquaintances after she contacted her for one of the columns she had written in The New York Times.
Taking his late wife’s advice, John wrote a long email to Lucy, initially thanking her for being Nina’s supporter and friend, and then asking several questions on how to go on living without his wife.
Lucy felt her heart go out to him owing to the vulnerable state he was in. Over the next couple of months, Lucy guided John to survive every day. They kept their conversations restricted to emails, but not the length and intensity.
“I felt like your guardian,” she said.
“You totally were,” he said.
Their feelings started budding and the conversations started to become more than just empathetic exchange. They met for the first time in late April, when Lucy was on a business trip to North Carolina, an hour away from John’s home.
Needless to say, things went down quite well for the two of them. They were learning to love while grieving for the love they lost.
John’s kids – Freddy (10) and Ben (8) as well as Lucy’s 3 y/o daughter – know about their relationship. Although sceptical at first, they are now open about their feelings for each other and the extended families of both are in support of them too.
The most romantic part of the entire story, I believe, is that they both STILL wear their wedding rings, they still spend time with their late spouses’ families and they still love the partners they lost. It is beautiful in its own way and my heart swells with joy to see them give love another shot.