You Will Not Have My Hate

by Antoine Leiris

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What matters most in life? How do you build a happy life when terrible things happen? What is left behind when you lose the person you love the most?

One night last winter, Antoine Leiris was at home looking after his son while his wife, Helene, was at a concert with friends. Suddenly he started receiving text messages asking if he was ok. Turning on the TV, Antoine watched the terrorist attacks in Paris unfolding around him and tried to call Helene. She didn't answer. That night Helene was killed, along with 88 other people, at the Bataclan Theatre.

Three days later, Antoine wrote an open letter to his wife's killers on Facebook. He refused to be cowed or to let his 17-month-old son's life be defined by their acts. 'For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom,' he wrote. Instantly, that short post caught fire and was shared thousands of times around the world.

You Will Not Have My Hate is an extraordinary and heartbreaking memoir about how Antoine, and his baby son Melvil, endured after Helene's murder. With courage, moral acuity, and absolute emotional honesty, he finds a way to answer the question, how can I go on? This is the rare and unforgettable testimony of a survivor, and a universal message of hope and resilience. This book is a guiding star for us all in perilous times.

• ISBN10: 0735222118
• ISBN13: 9780735222113
• Publish Date: 25 October 2016 (first published 20 October 2016)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Imprint: Penguin Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 144
• Language: English

Reviews

[wcs53]

I borrowed this little book from the library as it caught my eye. It was written by the husband of a woman who was killed in the terrorist attack at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015. In it he shares the story of how the events unfolded in his situation and how he was left to raise their 17 month old son alive. The title words come from a letter he wrote to the terrorists on Facebook a few days after the attack. In this letter he shared that he refuses to hate and he wants to concentrate all his emotions on raising his son.

The book is a moving account of how the author reacted to what happened and contains many details of his life before and after the attack. It is also a very poignant tribute to his wife. Although I borrowed this from the library, I may have to look for a copy of my own, as I'd really like to read it again, perhaps more slowly just to take it in better.

Ironically, and sadly, as I write this review, news is coming through of more people who have been killed at a concert in Europe. This time at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Very little details are available now, but it seems like it was some kind of explosion that occurred as the concert ended. We live in a very broken world.