This letter from Louise appears in the 2021 paperback edition of “Still Life”, just before Louise’s dedication. Her dedication reads: “This book is given, along with all my heart, to Michael”.

A Letter from Louise

When I was thirty-five, I thought the best was behind me.

I was lonely, and tired, and empty. Plodding through life.

At thirty-five.

By the time I was forty-five, I was married to the love of my life, and my first book was about to be published.

And now I’m sixty. Living in a beautiful Quebec village, surrounded by friends, with thirteen books to my name. And counting.

This milestone birthday gives me a chance to look back in wonderment. And gratitude. And amazement. That I should be here, happy, joyous, and free.

No one quite appreciates, and recognises, the light like those who’ve lived in darkness. That awareness is what I try to bring to the books. The duality of our lives. The power of perception. The staggering weight of despair, and the amazement when it is lifted.

The gap between how we appear and how we really feel.

Those are foundations of the Gamache books.

Initially they were called the Three Pines books, which, of course, they are. Three Pines is the tiny hidden village in Québec. Not on any map, it is only ever found by those who are lost.

But, once found, never forgotten.

At their core, though, these books are about the profound decency of Armand Gamache, and the struggles he has to remain a good person. When ‘good’ is subjective, and ‘decent’ is a matter of judgement.

These books might appear, superficially, as traditional crime novels. But they are, I believe, more about life than death. About choices. About the price of freedom. About the struggle for peace.

Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is inspired by my husband, Michael Whitehead. A doctor who treated children with cancer. Who spent his life searching for cures.

Who saved countless young lives, boys and girls who now have children of their own.

Despite the dreadful deaths and broken hearts all around him, Michael was the happiest man alive. Because he understood the great gift that life is.

Michael gave that perception to Armand.

Michael died of dementia. And it broke my heart. But I still have Armand. And Clara, and Jean-Guy. Myrna and Gabri and Olivier. And crazy old Ruth.

At thirty-five, I thought the best was behind me.

As I celebrate my sixtieth birthday, I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There’s a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

Welcome to the very cracked world of Armand Gamache and Three Pines. I am overjoyed to be able to share it with you.

Meet you in the bistro…

Louise Penny

March 2018

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