Widowed spouses of memoirists who wrote about their final days fall in love

The spouses of two terminally ill authors who wrote bestselling memoirs about their final days have fallen in love.

Lucy Kalanithi, the widow of When Breath Becomes Air author Paul Kalanithi, is now in a relationship with John Duberstein, whose late wife Nina Riggs wrote The Bright Hour.

Released posthumously to critical acclaim, both memoirs offered startlingly intimate accounts of the writers’ lives after lung and breast cancer diagnoses, respectively.

Lucy Kalanithi and John Duberstein have now shared the bittersweet story of how they met with Washington Post writer Nora Krug.

Nina Riggs' and Paul Kalanithi's bestselling memoirs were released posthumously in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

They met in person for the first time in April over two dinner dates, holding each other “a long time”, Lucy recalls.

John and Lucy, who are based on opposite ends of the United States, are now looking to blend their families and move to one location. They’ve kept reminders of Nina and Paul in their houses and still wear their wedding rings.

The pair admit their romance, and the circumstances surrounding it, has been emotionally challenging - despite their spouses ‘permitting’ them to be with other people after they died.

John tells the Washington Post that embarking on a second relationship is “a tragedy” in light of the fact he had planned to spend his whole life with Nina.

“But he acknowledges with deep gratitude the series of fortunate events that have led him to Lucy — a woman his wife had tacitly approved,” Krug writes.