Elin Hilderbrand said that her cancer diagnosis gave her an unexpected gift.
In an interview with The Washington Post published on Aug. 31, the beach read author spoke about the “one gift” her breast cancer diagnosis gave her and how it led to her retirement announcement in May. Hildebrand, now 55, was 45 when she was diagnosed in 2014 and underwent a double mastectomy, per CBS.
“There is one gift that a cancer diagnosis gives: a new understanding of how precious life is,” she told the publication. The realization lead to her ultimately retiring from writing her beloved beach reads and focusing more time on her family.
Elin Hilderbrand/Instagram
“My decision to retire the Nantucket-based novels came from a related place of wisdom,” she continued, adding: “I realize I only have a few more years before they have families of their own and I want to be present for them now.”
Hilderbrand is mom to three children: Maxx, Dawson and Shelby.
Elsewhere in the interview, she touched upon the importance of escapism while grappling with the news of a scary diagnosis and undergoing treatment. “One of the things going through my cancer journey taught me is that we’re all alone in our bodies,” Hilderbrand said.
“I also came to realize how desperately people who are sick want to go somewhere else in their minds. Escapism is real! That I have been able to provide a mental vacation to people who are undergoing treatment has given me a different way of thinking about the purpose of a ‘beach read.'”
Throughout her career, Hildebrand wrote 27 books and has sold over 20 million copies of her beloved novels.
Hachette Book Group
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Three months after her final Nantucket novel Swan Song was published, the Netflix series The Perfect Couple, which is based on her 2018 novel of the same name, hit the streamers.
When Hildebrand wrote the novel three years after cancer treatment, she included a character who had the same diagnosis. She told Parade more about the decision.
“It was basically timing, and also, it worked with my plot,” she explained. “I was diagnosed in 2014. I was treated through 2015. And so, by the time I started writing this in 2017, I was two years past my treatment, and I felt OK to write about it because I knew I was going to end up being fine.”
Hilderbrand added: “And also, it worked for my narrative. The narrative is that Celeste’s mother is sick and that really plays a big part in the plot.”
While speaking with The Washington Post, the bestselling author also teased more books to come. “Will there be other novels? Yes,” she said. “Will any of them be set on Nantucket? Never say never.”
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Hilderbrand spoke to PEOPLE in June about her final novel, Swan Song, saying that her retirement was for the fans.
“I never want anybody to pick up my book and say, ‘It just wasn’t as good as the last one.’ That is not going to happen,” she said at the time. “I’ve been watching a lot of people’s careers and it’s so important how you dismount.”
The Perfect Couple is available to stream on Netflix.
