Book ~ "We Are All Made of Stars" (2016) Rowan Coleman

From Goodreads ~ Stella Carey has good reason to only work nights at the hospice where she is a nurse. Married to a war veteran who has returned from Afghanistan brutally injured, Stella leaves the house each night as Vincent locks himself away, unable to sleep due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

During her nights at the hospice, Stella writes letters for her patients, detailing their final wishes, thoughts and feelings – from how to use a washing machine, to advice on how to be a good parent – and posts them after their death.

That is until Stella writes one letter that she feels compelled to deliver in time, to give her patient one final chance of redemption.

Stella is a hospice nurse who works night shifts, partly to avoid her husband, Vincent, an Afghanistan veteran who is struggling with the scars of war and the loss of his leg. At the hospice, Stella has a special role ... she writes letters for patients to be sent after they die. These letters are full of things people waited too long to say ... love, apologies, confessions and unfinished business. With one patient's letter, Stella has to decide whether to follow the rules or deliver it before the patient's death.

Hope is a 21-year-old patient with cystic fibrosis, who after a near-death experience, is staying temporarily at the the hospice. She still lives at home with her parents and because she assumes she won't be living to an old age because of CF, tends to be negative and brooding. Her best friend is Ben and is the opposite of her as he is lively and outgoing.

Hugh is a curator at a small museum and lives alone with his cat, Jake. His mother had committed suicide when he was young and his father recently passed away dying. Reluctantly he meets his next door neighbor and her son and gets pulled into their life.

I thought this book was okay. I found it a bit draggy and depressing, especially considering the subject matter. I think it would have been a better story if the Hope/Ben portion was left out (and maybe moved into it's own book) because it didn't really add anything and I found Stella and Hugh's stories more interesting. It's written in first person perspective in Stella, Hope and Hugh's voices. The letters Stella writes are included and were intriguing. As a head's up, there is swearing.