When I'm Gone - Emily Bleeker

Publisher: Lake Union Publisher

Published: March 2016

ISBN: 9781503953383

Dear Luke,
First let me say—I love you…I didn’t want to leave you…

Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.
The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goes on—in written words, in memories, and in the promises it’s never too late to keep.

My review
This book is like sitting on a rollarcoaster. Your emotions will reach absolute highs and lows. You will laugh and you will cry and you definitely will be turning the pages. The story starts when Luke Richardson is returning home with his three kids after burying his wife. You can actually feel the despair and grief coming from the pages. Emily Bleeker has done an outstanding job in describing all the emotions that Natalie and Luke go through from the moment Natalie is diagnosed with cancer, right until the first months after her dead.
Since Emily has been battling her own rare form of cancer (and survived thankfully), undoubtly she has written from experience, but it was splendidly done. 

Luke starts receiving mysterious letters from Natalie. They contain directions for Luke to help him picking up his life after her death, memories from her past and she talks about a secret she needs to share with him. For Luke, the letters are a lifeline and he clings onto them. But it also makes him wonder just how good he knew who Natalie was and what she was hiding from him. Together with Annie, Natalie's best friend, he tries to find out where the letters come from and what Natalie is hiding.

You'll laugh at the tactics of Natalie to get Luke to start dating again, you'll frown on the story from the past of Luke and it makes you wonder if you'll ever understand what Natalie tries to realize from the grave. The story is well written, with enough twists in the plot to keep you wondering and turning the pages. A lovely read, highly recommended! Thank you Netgalley for this lovely ARC.