I learned some sad news today. Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic series of Chick-lit, passed away.

I read “Confessions of a Shopaholic” when it came out in 2001. It was such a fun read, I was hooked, and promptly flew through the next few of the series, and another fun one outside of the series called “Can you Keep a Secret”.

Her books provided some wonderful moments for me when my son was young, when I had the time, just wanting to have a break from daily grind of being a working mom. By the time they made the movie based on her first book, I didn’t appreciate it as much (although Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy are very adorable)

I moved on from her books as I got older, but in 2024 heard about her dealing with glioblastoma, and read her book “What does it feel like” (my review in the link) which seemed autobiographical, about a famous writer dealing with cancer. It was poignant, as I thought about what she was going through, writing about it while she was battling her illness.

Although glioblastoma is a devastating cancer, she seemed to have survived beyond the typical prognosis, but still … she was only 55, an accomplished writer, wife, and importantly a mother of 5.

Heartbreaking.