Please Stay : Greg Payan

Please Stay

Please Stay is the story of a healthy 39-year old college professor struck down by a sudden, near fatal brain aneurysm.

After a short prologue, the book begins as Holly wakes up with a debilitating headache as readers feel the panic in those initial moments of confusion before a brain bleed is diagnosed at the hospital.

Readers learn about her through letters sent by friends and former students, who sent memories to be read at her bedside while she was fighting for her life, about the impact she had on their lives. They plead with her not to die through their words and share what she means to them.

A multiple-perspective take on a life-threatening situation, it documents love and luck in a hospital in New York in a real-time narrative as things unfolded.

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

The reader experiences the fears and prayers of Holly’s 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 relationships.

Please Stay is a book that one person described as ‘more of a love letter at times, than a standard memoir.’ Another noted that it is ‘honest, vulnerable and unflinching.’ It’s a unique story of love and survival that speaks to people across boundaries of health and wellness. It’s a story of faith and hope and love. Replete with tender anecdotes, the book calls readers to question their own legacies and to celebrate their lives and the love of the people in them.

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