"In the depths of darkness, you can still find positivity, somewhere." That's the message Kelsey Parker wants readers to take away from her debut memoir.
Kelsey Parker: With And Without You is a no holds barred account of living with grief, and it details the final years she spent with the love of her life, the late Tom Parker, who passed away at the age of 33 in March 2022.
While it's an incredibly emotional autobiography full of poignant memories and tough battles following her husband's 2020 diagnosis with glioblastoma [an aggressive brain tumour], the ultimate message is that even during the hardest moments of your life, you dig deep to find something to be positive about.
"I don't think going to see a counsellor is right for me. I'm useless at that," Kelsey exclusively tells OK! "But writing the book has actually been therapy for me.
I read it back and take in the fact that this has actually been my life. Especially when Tom was ill. I was so consumed with fighting for the next day and moving forward. Getting all this down on paper has made me realise what my life has been like for the past three years. It's been really tough for me."
Losing your husband at 32 is something no one should have to face. But Kelsey, who has two children, Aurelia, four, and two-year-old Bodhi, with The Wanted's Tom, tries to put a positive spin on everything - even her husband's death. Including, in one particularly moving chapter of her autobiography, the moment the singer passed away.
"It was magical - he didn't die in pain," Kelsey, now 33, explains. "It was like his soul was ready to leave him and go somewhere else. It was so special to watch. It wasn't like he was struggling or anything like that. He looked amazing and he just passed over." While losing Tom at such a young age to glioblastoma was, sadly, highly likely following his diagnosis, it was something he and Kelsey never discussed.
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