“This book recounts my experiences through an incredibly turbulent time in my life. It details how I navigated life after losing someone I loved dearly. As hard as ‘letting go’ is, it means releasing an emotional attachment and accepting a situation as it is. It does not mean forgetting but rather learning to live beyond the loss,” she said. According to Tlou, writing I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye was a difficult process due to the emotions it brought back. “Of all the books I have written, this was the most challenging. It often took me back down memory lane, and I’d find myself lost in pain and hurt. At some point, I felt like I was being too vulnerable and was not ready for the world to read my story as raw as it is,” she said. She noted that grief is a universal experience, and her interactions with other grieving individuals reinforced the importance of discussing it openly. “At some point in life, each one of us will experience the death of someone we love and care about. I have shared moments with grieving individuals and understand the denial and trauma that come with it,” she said.
One of the key chapters in the book, Journeying Again, focuses on moving forward while acknowledging the pain of loss. “One day, I woke up in the middle of the night and heard a voice, loud and clear, ‘It is time to close the casket, bury the hatchet, and move on with life.’ Those words rang in me every single night. Life is never meant to be lived in the past because nothing can ever change the fact that whatever happened is beyond your control,” she said. The cover of I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye also holds a significant meaning for her. “It resonates with a part of me that is missing, a part that used to make me whole but is no more. It has vanished into thin air, and I am left with so much agony,” she said. Since its release, the book has received feedback from readers who relate to its themes. One early reader shared their thoughts, writing: “This book speaks to me in a way I cannot put into words. I teared up a lot when reading it because I related not only to death but to everything I have lost in life. I was not ready to say goodbye to a lot of things, but I am learning to live without them.”
Now that the book is published, Tlou says she feels a sense of closure. “This book took me so long to put together because of all the emotions I had to deal with in the process. Now that it has hit the market, I feel a huge relief and so much peace,” she said. Beyond writing, she has developed an interest in public speaking, particularly on grief and mental health. “Loss affects mental health significantly, and these issues need to be discussed with care. I look forward to collaborations and partnerships to engage in such conversations,” she said. She emphasised that grief does not follow a fixed timeline and that people should allow themselves to process it at their own pace. “It is okay not to be okay sometimes. Some days are difficult, and others are manageable, but the most important thing is to acknowledge the pain and find ways to live beyond it,” she said.
