The Fun We Had

A message from the author, Charissa Coulthard;

The Fun We Had is a personal story of love and loss, inspired by my mum and eldest son. In 2018, shortly after my first child was born, my mum was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Despite knowing time was limited, and never being able to pick him up, she and my son developed an incredibly close bond. When he was three, my son - armed with his doctor’s kit - asked if there was any way he could make Nana better. As hard as it was, I told him he couldn’t make her better - nobody could - but he could still do something really important: he could make her smile. And that became the seed of this book.

The love they shared, the joy they brought each other and the memories they made were far more powerful than any illness would ever be. The Fun We Had is a sad story, but it is also a happy one. It celebrates how precious our memories and mementoes of loved ones are, and how much comfort these can bring us when we no longer have that person close. The memories you see on the pages are inspired by my own childhood: moments spent outdoors playing in the woods, camping in the sunshine, splashing on the beach.

Sam Usher’s illustrations have such a timeless and nostalgic quality that I hope will resonate with readers of all ages. My mum didn’t get to see this book before she died, but I did sit and read her the text. I was always sharing stories I’d written with her, and she was my biggest cheerleader. But I knew that sharing this story would be different - and incredibly difficult - for both of us. She told me if I wasn’t going to try and get it published, I was an idiot. I think she may have been right. Mums usually are. Thank you so much for reading this book. It has my heart. I hope it can bring comfort to any reader, old or young, who has lost a loved one or is seeing them through illness.