Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas is a 2001 novel by James Patterson that argues the importance of balance within one's life. Two interwoven stories are told throughout the novel. The framing story is based on Katie Wilkinson, a New York City book editor, whose relationship with poet Matthew Harrison ends suddenly. During this period, Katie learns about Matt's past through the diary written by Suzanne. Background. "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" marks Patterson's first attempt in the romance genre. Patterson, a best-selling author, is known for his mystery thriller series featuring  detective Alex Cross. Continuing the trend with his novels, "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" has sold millions of copies, proving to be very popular. Patterson used some of his experience with heartbreak to write Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. In 1974, Patterson fell in love with Jane Blanchard. After dating for several years, she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. When she died, Patterson devoted his time to writing and stayed away from romantic relationships. Over a decade later, he married Susan, who wrote a diary for their baby son. Plot Summary. New York City book editor Katie Wilkinson  is devastated when her boyfriend, poet Matt Harrison, abruptly breaks up with her for no apparent reason. He later sends her a diary as a means of explaining why he can't be with her, and Katie discovers the diary is written by a woman named Suzanne, who is writing to her newborn son, Nicholas. Suzanne begins her story in Boston, where she was working as a doctor in a hospital. After she has a heart attack at a young age, her fiancé leaves her, partly because he believes they won't be able to have children due to her  health issues. In an effort to start over, she moves to Martha's Vineyard and buys a house that she plans to fix up. Suzanne meets Matt Harrison, a house painter, at a diner and hires him to paint her house. They fall in love and are married, and soon after have a son, Nicholas. When Suzanne becomes pregnant again, she becomes ill with toxemia and is hospitalized, ultimately losing the baby. With Matt's support, she recovers and writes that she feels lucky to have the life that she does. Suzanne's diary entries end suddenly after she writes  about having pictures of Nicholas, now almost a year old, taken in a professional studio. Matt takes over writing in the diary and expresses immense grief over the loss of his wife, eventually revealing that Suzanne had a heart attack while driving to pick up the photos of Nicholas and crashed the car, killing both Suzanne and Nicholas. In the present, Katie is devastated by the truth about Matt's past and finally understands that his tremendous grief and guilt is keeping him from moving on with Katie, who he does not know is pregnant by him. She visits Martha 's Vineyard and pays her respects at the graves of Suzanne and Nicholas, then finds the house where Matt lived with his wife and son. She encounters an old friend of his, Melanie, who tells Katie that she believes Matt does love her. Katie returns to New York and begins to conceive of a life as a single mother, but Matt appears outside her office building and begs for forgiveness. They reconcile and happily marry. On her wedding day, Katie recalls Suzanne's words from her diary, "Isn't it lucky?" and remembers to be grateful. Film adaptation. The novel  was adapted for a television movie entitled "James Patterson's Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" that aired on CBS on March 27, 2005. Written and directed by Richard Friedenberg, it starred Christina Applegate as Suzanne, Johnathon Schaech as Matt Harrison, and Kathleen Rose Perkins as Katie.