Disclaimer: The characters and plot in this story are owned by Nicholas Sparks, not me.

PROLOGUE

The seventeenth year of my life was my best and worst moment.

I foresee the eyebrows shooting up when people read this paradox. Indeed, it is senseless, and I bother not to explain yet, because I know my readers will reach enlightenment ultimately.

I will bid farewell to the world soon but leaving no regrets lingering. I will miss my Daddy and my husband. Therefore, I wish for them not to grieve over my departure as much as I crave for a miracle to save me from this terminal disease.

I am perfectly aware that Daddy and Landon will not be able to recover solely by themselves over my departure. And I cannot be selfish enough to devour any of their future happiness. I need them to live more happily than before. I need them to understand why I want it that way. It is so that I can depart placidly, free from burdens.

Don't get me wrong: it's not that I want them to forget me. I want them to have a silhouette of me within their hearts. But they mustn't treat me as an encumbrance to happiness. I must help them exit the path of despondency.

This novel will be my answer for them, with my love burning alive with every word they read. All I hope for is that this novel can keep me alive within them, and years even after my last breath, their memories of me will still be as vivid as it is now.

This novel, most definitely, will halt them from grieving.

Hence, I pen my story. But lately, it is getting increasingly strenuous to move. This disease is draining my efforts, and I can barely lift the blanket up without a stinging pain in my arms. I fear that I may not be able to dance my fingers swiftly across the keyboard very soon.

I will try, for the sake of my father and for my husband. My love sustains my breaths and summons my strength.

And for my love, I will complete this book before I depart, with everything of my life, from the best times to the worst times. I will begin from the very beginning of the turning point in my life to the very end my breath ceases.

My name is Jamie Sullivan-Carter. At age seventeen, I am diagnosed with leukemia, dying. I am married to Landon Carter, and this is our story. I promise of nothing but the truth and the minutest details.

Allow me to lead you back to the year of nineteen fifty seven…