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Greg Payan
Author
Please Stay
Greg Payan, author
Please Stay is the story of a healthy 39-year old college professor struck down by a sudden, near fatal brain aneurysm. After a short prologue, the book begins as Holly wakes up with a debilitating headache as readers feel the panic in those initial moments of confusion before a brain bleed is diagnosed at the hospital. Readers learn about her through letters sent by close friends and former students, who sent memories to be read at her bedside while she was on a respirator, fighting for her life, about the impact she had on their lives. They plead with her not to die through their words and share what she means to them. Please Stay is both an extremely compelling story and an interesting story-telling methodology. A multiple-perspective take on a life-threatening situation, it documents love and luck in a hospital in New York in a real-time narrative as things unfolded. The story is told through actual correspondence which updated friends, colleagues and loved ones through long emails at the end of each of 24 ICU days; text messages sent back and forth to Holly’s sister as things unfolded; and photos documenting events as Holly fought to live. The reader experiences the fears and prayers of Holly’s loved ones who come to the realization that she may eventually recover but be left compromised, potentially losing her writing and teaching career and altering irrevocably her myriad relationships. Please Stay is a book that one person described as ‘more of a love letter at times, than a standard memoir.’ Another noted that it is ‘honest, vulnerable and unflinching.’ It’s a unique story of love and survival that speaks to people across boundaries of health and wellness. It’s a story of faith and hope and love. Replete with tender anecdotes, the book calls readers to question their own legacies and to celebrate their lives and the love of the people in them.
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.25 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: This book is well structured, engaging, honest, and readers will keep turning pages until the very end. The use of actual correspondence from friends adds to the story, though the lack of background information about the correspondents makes their messages less compelling.

Prose: The prose is solid, appropriate to the material, and full of emotion without ever drifting into melodrama.

Originality: The story told here is unique and compelling. The use of actual correspondences gives the text a fresh feel.

Character Development: Readers certainly get to know the author and Holly. Both of them feel real and vivid—and readers will care about them and their story.

Date Submitted: April 10, 2018

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