“Aye. I told you, you can often see them up here.”
“She missed them. She bloody missed them.”
She felt him smile as she rested her back against him, and together they watched the northern lights flicker and shimmer, all the colors of the rainbow. Purples and pinks and greens and blues, shining and shifting and the most beautiful thing Annie had ever seen. Unique. All-consuming. Like Polly. He said, “One of your motivational books might say she’s like that now. Far away. Shining.”
Annie tutted. “God veto, Max.”
“Fair enough. But it’s lovely, no?”
“It’s lovely.”
“So there’s still that, even if everything is shite and depressing and people are dying all over the show. We’re here now—admittedly with frozen arses—but we’re here, watching this, and we’re alive. Is that enough for you?”
Annie felt his arms around her, holding her close, just the two of them under the vast ceiling of the sky, the stars sending their light from so far away, even after they were dead and dark and gone. They still shone. Polly would shine, too, as long as they remembered her. Annie was here. There was no one like her on the whole of the planet, no one who had ever lived or ever would. There was not a single other person with her fingerprints, with the memories she carried in the tangle of meat and nerves that was her brain, no one with the blood beating in her veins. She was herself, and she was alive right now, despite everything. And so was he. “Yes,” she said. “It’s enough.”
*
Author’s Note
Dear Reader, Thank you so much for reading Something Like Happy. I started writing this book because I was intrigued by the “100 happy days” concept that was flooding my Facebook feed. Usually, I would roll my eyes at such things and dry-heave a bit whenever I saw #blessed hashtags on my social media. I’m not a naturally positive person—I grew up in Northern Ireland, for one thing, and we love a bit of misery. But something about this idea made me think. Was it really possible to make yourself happy, just by noticing the good things in your life every day? Can you drag yourself up from the bottom and start again?
There’ve been times in my life when, like Annie in the book, I felt I had hit rock bottom. When I was twenty-four I was diagnosed with cancer, like Polly. Luckily it was caught early and I recovered fully, but I found it hard to restart my life. Later, I found myself broke and homeless after my marriage broke down—I even got hit by a car, as well! (Luckily I was okay.) Both times I realized that doing happy things did make me feel better. Going to dance classes, taking a trip to the beach, even just baking a cake. So yes, I think it is possible to find happiness and hope again, even in the darkest days. There are always good things in the world.
I hope that, if you are going through a tough time, you might be able to find the same. Thanks for reading, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the book, or if you’ve been through something similar. My website is www.evawoodsauthor.com and I’m on Twitter, too, as @inkstainsclaire.
Eva xx
Acknowledgments
An awful lot of people are involved in taking a book from a random idea someone has on a train to the beautiful published thing you see before you. First, I need to thank my wonderful agent Diana Beaumont, who always steers me right when I’m a bit lost with a book, and pushes me to go the extra “10%,” especially when I don’t think I can. Sasha Raskin in New York has also done an amazing job with overseas rights, and it’s so thrilling to know this book will be published in different languages. Thanks as well to everyone at UTA and Marjacq for their support in getting the book off the ground.
This book is my first time being published on both sides of the Atlantic, and it has been a fantastic experience. Thanks to everyone at both Sphere and Harlequin U.S./Graydon House, especially Margo Lipschultz and Maddie West for their enthusiastic, clear-sighted edits. And huge thanks as well to everyone who has been involved in copy edits, cover design, marketing, publicity, and more—it’s truly overwhelming to see the support for the book.
I’m fortunate to have many wonderful writing and nonwriting friends, who have helped me at every step of the process. I wish you all, and my family too, hundreds of happy days. Finally, this book is dedicated to Scott, who has accompanied me on many a happy day, mostly involving cake. Sorry for making you go to Scotland in February and forcing you to go skiing in a blizzard.
This (and every) book would be nothing without readers, so the biggest thank-you must go to you if you’ve picked up this book—I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If so, I’d love to hear from you. I’m on Twitter @inkstainsclaire, Instagram @evawoodsauthor, and online at www.evawoodsauthor.com. Drop me a line!
Lots of love,
Eva x