If Only Love

AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A HEATHER’S PICK

“Shelley Saywell’s poignant, hauntingly beautiful memoir takes us on an epic journey of resilience and regret that will at once break your heart and give you hope in the enduring power and endless possibility of love.” —Mellissa Fung, author of Between Good and Evil

“A heartbreaking memoir of love lost, love found and then lost again. Shelley Saywell, the accomplished creator of documentary films, reveals another part of herself—a tender heart and the joy and grief that accompany deep passion. Even through the pain, she shows that over time profound love is completely worth the risk.” —Antanas Sileika, author of Some Unfinished Business

“In this miracle of a story, Saywell interweaves two strands of profound human experience at opposing ends of the emotional spectrum: falling in love and grieving the premature death of a life partner. In the hands of a master storyteller, this seemingly incompatible double helix soars into a triumph of the heart. A transcontinental journey of hope and serendipity, If Only Love is a book for anyone who has ever dreamt of a second chance.” —Roxana Spicer, author of The Traitor’s Daughter

“If Only Love is an epic true story of a great love lost in youth and rekindled decades later, only to be wrenched away again. It is a beautiful, sometimes painful and always inspiring tribute to everlasting love. It took my breath away and made me look into my own heart.” —Anna Maria Tremonti, broadcast journalist and the creator of the podcast Welcome to Paradise

“An extraordinarily fine story that in fact transcends genre… . Brave and astute… . [Saywell] portrays raw emotion but in a classic, controlled way.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“Saywell is an unmatched storyteller. If Only Love seamlessly weaves together multiple life lines of near cosmic soul love and the grief of terminal illness and loss, capturing both the unfiltered rush of young love shared with the late Daniel (“Pete”) Peterson with the wrenching, stumbling days and months of blinding grief after his death… . The result feels pain­fully hon­est, raw, yet lyr­ical and restrained; a trib­ute to love and grat­it­ude, which offers up just enough bio­graphy of Say­well and Peterson to make the flow of memory effort­less… . The mediation of the book, in process and form, carries us into the light.” —POV Magazine

Shelley Saywell

Shelley Saywell is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and author whose work bears witness to life in some of the world’s most desperate places. Saywell has written, directed, and produced more than twenty independent documentary films, telling stories of struggle and conflict, the fight for justice, and the power of hope.

Her films, including A Child’s Century of War, Kim’s Story, Out of the Fire, and Martyr Street, have been shown in more than thirty countries and won numerous awards, including an Emmy for Investigative Journalism. Saywell has been personally honored with the WIFT Creative Excellence Award and a UNESCO Gandhi Medal for the Promotion of Peace.

Her memoir, If Only Love, is the story of the great love and events that shaped her life behind the lens.

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