Author Kirsty Greenwood Dishes on the Love of My Afterlife Film
As a regular contributor to the Books section here at Reader’s Digest, I get to read a lot of great fiction. To me, some of the best books are novels that sparkle with snappy dialogue and feel-good vibes while also delivering on weightier themes like coming-of-age, found family and second chances. So it should come as no surprise that Kirsty Greenwood’s The Love of My Afterlife made my personal top 10 best books of the year.
Greenwood’s romance novel introduces readers to Delphie, a lonely, quirky Londoner who is mortified to find herself in Afterlife’s waiting room after choking to death on a cheeseburger. There, she briefly meets Jonah, her “one true love,” before he is pulled back to Earth due to a cosmic oversight. Fortunately, Delphie’s afterlife therapist, a romance superfan named Merritt, gives Delphie the ultimate consolation prize: If she can find Jonah and seal their love with a kiss within 10 days, Delphie will get a second chance at life. Back in the land of the living, she enlists the help of her handsome, brooding neighbor, Cooper, and a ragtag crew of new acquaintances, as she races around the city in search of Jonah.
I loved how Greenwood made a zany premise endearingly human while peppering the pages with every romance trope imaginable. The result is a funny, sweet, delightfully self-aware story that actually made me laugh and cry. When I found out the bestselling novel was being developed into a feature film by Wayfarer Studios (the company that just brought Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us to life), I knew this was the perfect time to interview Greenwood about her effervescent, feel-good read.
Here’s what she had to say about writing The Love of My Afterlife, the upcoming book-to-movie adaptation and her next project.
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Reader’s Digest: First, let’s talk about the premise of a romantic comedy tied to death and the afterlife. Where did the idea come from?
Kirsty Greenwood: I have been really lucky to have never lost anybody really close to me, but it’s something I’m terrified of, and I think I always lean into those darker places when I’m coming up with ideas. The idea of taking something like death and the afterlife and making it into a comedy just felt really interesting to me. And I really need to have an idea that is gonna see me through, you know, 90,000 words. I knew that the afterlife would give me a real scope to be able to play, to completely invent things in a fantastical way, which was just a really fun prospect.
Reader’s Digest: The book starts with a death, followed by a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a do-over. There are second chances woven throughout the whole novel. Was it your aim to explore the concept of the afterlife through the theme of second chances?
Kirsty Greenwood: I didn’t set out for it to be that. But before I started writing the book, I’d been really unwell with mental health difficulties and spent time in hospital. I didn’t know if I was gonna make it out of there, didn’t know if I wanted to make it out of there. We ended up moving house to Paddington [an area of London], where the book is set, and tried to get a fresh start thereyou know, make friends and try to rebuild my life from what essentially had been rock bottom. I felt like I’d also had a sort of death of my old life and this new beginning. Delphie’s story kind of reflected that.
I always realize after I’ve written my books that there are similarities and themes to what I’ve just been living. Of course, real life is going to seep in, but it did strike me, especially with The Love of My Afterlife, how similar it was thematically. Obviously, I’ve not been to the afterlife, but there’s the idea of a second chance and being reluctant about and nervous about that second chance. Also, [there’s the idea of] finding community: Strangers, especially in a big city like London, are more willing than you would have thought to build relationships with other people.
Reader’s Digest: Yes, Delphie ended up connecting with quite a motley crew of characters. Did this friendship plotline also mirror your life?
Kirsty Greenwood: Definitely. I was in therapy at the time, and my therapist was like, ‘You’ve got to get back out into the world and stop cocooning yourself.’ So I made an active effort to talk to people. If I was in the queue for coffee and someone said hi, I would continue the conversation and try to see if anything happened. It meant I ended up making friends with a real variety of people.
One of my closest friends in London now is an 80-year-old woman whose dog I look after, and I have people who I go to see musical theater shows with and people who I continue conversations with, whereas in the past, I would have stopped them for fear of being awkward. That definitely inspired Delphie’s journey in the sense that there are so many lonely people in the city, and so many of them want connection. Some of them are crazy, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t be good friends, you know?
Reader’s Digest: On top of these strong themes of second chances and found family, you’ve sprinkled The Love of My Afterlife with so many tongue-in-cheek references to the romance genreother romance authors, romance books and tropes like enemies-to-lovers, love triangles, insta-love, all that. It seems very intentional, like you had a lot of fun with it.
Kirsty Greenwood: Completely. The character of Merritt is such a romance nut that it was fun to put myself in her shoes and reference things the way that she would reference them, which is that everything is a potential romance novel moment. That was really fun. It’s a genre that gives me so much joy in my life, and I guess I wanted to celebrate it.
Reader’s Digest: Do you have a favorite romance book trope?
Kirsty Greenwood: It’s enemies-to-lovers for me. There’s all that tension, and it’s just in the wrong direction. If this energy was pointed in the right direction, it would be explosive and wonderful. I worry that I’m just gonna be an enemies-to-lovers girl. Like, that’s all I’m gonna try because it is just so delicious.
Reader’s Digest: Was your own love story an enemies-to-lovers romance?
Kirsty Greenwood: Oh, no. Mine was insta-love! We literally bumped into each other and started talking and stayed up all night talking. Then, a week later, we told each other we were in love with each other. We were 18 at the time. This was 20-odd years ago.
Reader’s Digest: Does this mean your next book will also be enemies-to-lovers?
Kirsty Greenwood: I’m still working on it, and it’s more the teenage or childhood enemies-to-lovers element. They were high school nemeses. He was the school geek. She was the bad girl at school. Now they’re grown up, and she’s very sensible these days, and he’s just an absolute charmer. He’s had the ultimate makeover. There’s still that bristling tension of enemies-to-loversthe banter, the back-and-forth, the kind of screwball romantic comedy that I love.
Reader’s Digest: How is your experience writing this romance book different from your experience writing The Love of My Afterlife?
Kirsty Greenwood: I wrote [The Love of My Afterlife] during my recovery. So I was writing the book to cheer myself up, honestly. I’d just got a new agent, and I wanted a deal, but my aim with that book was just: How can I cheer myself up? How can I make myself happy every single day at the desk? It was the most joyful experience I’ve ever had writing anything.
I’ve been in my head a little more with this book. I’m still writing the first draft. Previously, I had a very small audience. I mean, I made my living from it, but I have found the experience of being published in the U.S. slightly tricky to deal with. I’m a people pleaser. Meeting readers [on tour] was the best thing, but I don’t want to let these guys down.
Reader’s Digest: And then there’s the big news: Your book is going to be made into a movie. Congratulations! Can you remember the moment you found out about the film adaptation? What was your reaction?
Kirsty Greenwood: The deal was made over a year ago, actually. They took a while to settle on the right writer. Things move quite slowly. Nothing’s as slow as publishing, but they’re taking it really seriously, and they’re really intentional about it.
We’d had interest from multiple places. I’d had Zooms with different companies. Some wanted to do a TV show. Some wanted to do a movie. We knew that it was going to be adapted or at least optioned.
Honestly, so much insane stuff had happened at that point that I kind of had to put a blocker up because my adrenaline levels were just out of control. There’d been an auction in the U.K., in the U.S., in multiple places around the world. Then there’s me, fresh off a nervous breakdown, writing a book just for me. And then all this wildness happened. At that point, I was like, “This is not real life.” I think I was slightly numb to it.
Must-read books by Kirsty Greenwood
Reader’s Digest: How hands-on will you be with the film project?
Kirsty Greenwood: I am actually executive producing. I’m not super hands-in, but the team at Wayfarer is. One of the reasons why we went with them is that they are so communicative. They really value my role in this, and I think they want my take on things, which is really lovely. They’ve got an incredible writer on board: Vicki Jones, who is also a playwright and directed the original Fleabag show. She’s an absolute comic genius. She’s fantastic.
I feel confident that I can stand back and that they’re going to communicate with me. I’m not super precious anyway. It’s a different medium, and they have to make it work for them.
Reader’s Digest: Wayfarer Studios also adapted Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us. Have you seen it?
Kirsty Greenwood: Yes, I went to see it at the cinema near me and thought it was excellent. I was really, really happy. It made me more excited about the fact that the team is working on mine!
Reader’s Digest: So you knew Wayfarer Studios would be handling your own book adaptation before seeing It Ends with Us?
Kirsty Greenwood: Yes. Before I saw it, I’d been really impressed by how involved they’d kept Colleen. They really respected her writing romance. They showed her respect for a book that is often maligned, especially online and especially by people who don’t read romance. And they were steadfast with that the whole way through the process, which I really admired.
Reader’s Digest: Well, it’s been such a whirlwind couple of years for you. How cool to see your story resonate with so many readers around the worldand then to know you’ll eventually see it played out in movie form.
Kirsty Greenwood: It’s bonkers. I’m trying to just enjoy it all because I know these things don’t always last. I’ve had ups and downs in my writing career because I’ve been doing this for a while. I’m making hay while the sun shines and just trying to soak all this in. I know that in years to come, I’ll be like, “Wow, that happened, and I’m really proud of that.”
Reader’s Digest: Any last comments on the book or upcoming film?
Kirsty Greenwood: I am hoping they shoot in London. And I’m hoping that I can get all my friends to be extras. Please, let us have one day where I can have all my pals be extras in the background of a park scene or something! They’ll probably tell me to stop being so, like, brand-new to the industry. “Oh, God. What’s she asking for now?” But in the interest of making hay, you know…
Kirsty Greenwood’s favorite rom-coms
The Love of My Afterlife was one of my favorite books of the year, which got me thinking: What were Greenwood’s favorites? And which romances make her best-of-all-time list? Read on for five rom-coms she recommends all romance readers pick up.
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
This laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a 30-something single woman perpetually caught between the fun of singlehood and the deep anxiety of dying alone is one of the most iconic and comedic novels of the early aughts. But if you’ve only seen the film, it’s high time you check out the book, according to Greenwood. She says Bridget Jones’s Diary is “an absolute classic and, in my opinion, the funniest romantic comedy of them all. If a book can make me laugh out loud, it has my heart forever.”
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
The Undomestic Goddess is the story of a recently unemployed hotshot lawyer who, through a case of hilarious miscommunication, accidentally gets hired as a family housekeeper. But after a chance encounter with the gardener, she wonders if she really wants her old job back. “The comedy in this novel is almost farcical in nature, which I get such a lot of enjoyment from,” says Greenwood. “Sophie Kinsellas’s protagonists always feel like friends. I adore her booksthey’re beautifully written, unashamed entertainment, which is hard to pull off!”
Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes
More of a coming-of-age tale with a romantic subplot than a straight romantic comedy, Rachel’s Holiday by Irish author Marian Keyes is about Rachel Walsh, an Irish woman who refuses to admit she’s struggling with addiction. When her family checks her into a rehab facility, she keeps her fingers crossed that she’ll have a little fun and bump into a celebrity or two. Instead, she has to face a whole lot of emotions she’s used to stuffing awayincluding a seed of affection for a handsome fellow addict. Greenwood’s take? “Reading this book was the first time I felt completely seen by an author,” she says. “Keyes’s writing is bold and dark while remaining sharply funny. She is top tier for me.”
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Dolly Alderton is often compared to Nora Ephron, and for good reason, but Good Material offers a slight departure from the feel-good storybook romances. It’s told from the perspective of 35-year-old Andy, a fledgling stand-up comedian whose heart is broken by his longtime girlfriend, Jen. His journal-like postmortem of their relationship is packed with droll humor, sharp observations and, of course, painful tenderness. However, the real kicker is the final act, when Jen gets to tell her side of the story. “I read this recently and adored it,” says Greenwood. “It’s very ‘voicey’ and smart on relationships and heartbreak. While not a traditional romantic comedy, it’s definitely a love story that’s funny. So I’m counting it!”
Snap Happy by Fiona Walker
Snap Happy begins when Juno has a hedonistic one-night stand on her birthday. But having a one-night stand with a man who turns out to be your new flatmate makes life a little bit complicated. Reviewers say this is a very British, very ’90s rom-com (it was published in 1999, after all!)a perfect nostalgia read. “This is an all-time favorite romance of mine,” adds Greenwood. “Again, relentlessly entertaining and sparky. I always love novels that pull this off because I know how difficult it is to do well!”
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