Pack Up the Moon, by Kristan Higgins

Consider me a hopeless romantic. I didn’t really think I was, but this book proved me wrong. Pack up the Moon, by Kristan Higgins is the kind of story you want to read when you really want to FEEL all the feels. If you need a good cry, look no further than the pages in this book.

Lauren and Josh are married & madly in love. They dream of living a long life together until they receive devastating news that will cut those dreams short. Lauren has IPF…a terminal disease. Her prognosis leaves her with 3-5 years left to live. Lauren spends every day after her diagnosis living what’s left of her life to the fullest until IPF calls her to the Great Beyond.

Joshua’s world crumbles around him. A life without Lauren isn’t a life at all. Unbeknownst to Josh, Lauren spent her last days writing him a series of letters. One letter to be read each month for one year after her death. Lauren writes her letters to Josh in an effort to help him heal and move on & they all contain one request…a task to help him in his grief and push him out of his comfort zone.

Oh, to be loved the way Josh loved Lauren and vice versa. I think that’s the part of the story that kept me reaching for the tissues the most. I LOVE the way they loved each other…so pure and beautiful. I think I started crying about two chapters in and the tears didn’t stop until I was finally finished reading. And not just tears, but big ugly sobs. The kind that stop up your breathing and leave you with puffy eyes long after you’ve stopped crying. And while yes, it was definitely a sad story to read, it was breathtakingly beautiful, too. But let me just warn you now…Chapter 35 did me in. I was emotionally WRECKED. Completely and totally gutted.

While this story is most definitely a tearjerker, there were SO many things I loved about it. The supporting characters. The friendships. Josh’s journey through grief. His personality. His growth. The details of Lauren’s disease and the way she faced her mortality. I could go on and on.

You most definitely want to read this one with an infinite supply of tissues nearby. And while death and the trail of grief it leaves behind is an incredibly somber subject matter, there are so many lighthearted moments woven throughout the story that will make you smile and laugh out loud to balance out the tears. So very, very well done.

5 out of 5 stars

TW: death of a loved one; terminal disease; grief