Covershot of Letters to Emma book
Image courtesy of Matthias Media

Letters to Emma: a memoir of grief and God’s love

Matthias Media 2016


My first book, Letters to Emma: a memoir of grief and God’s love (2016) describes my sorrow and struggles after the death of my beloved husband Paul in 2011. It’s called Letters to Emma because it was my friend Emma who first asked me to consider writing about my experience of loss and grief.

For me, the only way to do it was to imagine I was writing a letter addressed to one person – to Emma herself. As a literary device it worked perfectly. It helped me write openly and honestly about a difficult, painful subject.

In the end I wrote six letters and published them on Write What You See as blog posts in Aug/Sept 2015. The response was overwhelming. Not long after, Matthias Media suggested I use the posts as the foundation for a book. They now form the core of Letters to Emma.

The book is a testament not only to God’s loving care but also to his kindness in blessing me so deeply in my marriage to Paul. I’ve sailed through some pretty rough seas, but God has been there with me in the thick of the storm and in the aftermath.


“There is no guidebook for grief. But there are companions, including those who have already walked its path. Lee Carter’s memoir of her own journey with grief after her husband’s sudden death describes with great candour her journey of shock, loss, fear and change. She provides a glimpse of what it’s like to find a way through the wild and unpredictable landscape of grief. Although every person’s experience of loss and grief will be unique, Lee points us all to the God who never forsakes us – our heavenly Father who is able to comfort and sustain us even through the greatest of losses, and who offers the only true hope in the face of death.”

Back cover | Letters to Emma: a memoir of grief and God’s love | Lee Carter, Matthias Media 2016

Available through Amazon (Aust) & Matthias Media (Aust)