Please Stay: A Brain Bleed, A Life In The Balance, A Love Story / Greg Payan

Please Stay tells the story of Holly, a 39-year old college professor struck down by a sudden, near fatal brain aneurysm. 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. These notes recount anecdotes and share memories about the impact she had on their lives. Through their notes they plead with her not to die through their words and share what she means to them.

The story is told through actual correspondence which updated friends, colleagues and family through long emails at the end of each of 24 ICU days; text messages sent back and forth to loved ones as things unfolded; and photos documenting events as she fought to live. The reader experiences the fears and prayers of 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.

Reviewers have described the book using such terms as: “more of a love letter at times, than a memoir,” “honest, vulnerable, and unflinching,” and “breathtakingly pure-hearted and moving.”

Please Stay is a book that calls readers to question their own legacies and to celebrate their lives and the love of the people in them. It is a unique story of love and survival that speaks to people across boundaries of health and wellness.