Bestselling author Jojo Moyes has revealed that it was the encouragement of fellow writer Sophie Kinsella that convinced her to complete Me Before You, a novel that would go on to become a global publishing phenomenon. Speaking on Desert Island Discs with host Lauren Laverne, Moyes said she was close to abandoning the book after writing just 20,000 words. At the time, she was struggling financially and emotionally after years of limited commercial success.
“I was broke and feeling quite depressed because I thought my writing career was coming to an end,” Moyes recalled. She explained that during a lunch with Kinsella, she shared doubts about continuing the manuscript. Kinsella’s response was immediate and firm.
“She just looked at me and said, ‘You have to write this book. You do know that, don’t you?’” Moyes said.
A Timely Push From a Friend
The encouragement didn’t stop there. Moyes revealed that Kinsella’s husband, Henry Wickham, later called her to reinforce the message. “Maddy told me about this book and I think you should write it too,” he said. Moyes described the moment as pivotal, adding, “I love her for many reasons, but that’s one of them.” She credits that conversation with giving her the confidence to continue writing at a time when she was close to giving up entirely.
A Story That Resonated Worldwide
Me Before You follows the life of Louisa Clark, a working-class young woman who becomes the carer for Will Traynor, a wealthy man left paralysed after a motorcycle accident. The novel explores love, disability, autonomy, and difficult moral choices, themes that struck a chord with readers around the world. Moyes said the story was inspired by a news report about a young rugby player who was left quadriplegic and later travelled to Switzerland for assisted dying with his parents’ support.
“I knew I loved this book and I knew it was the best version of itself that it could be,” Moyes told Laverne. “But I had no idea it was going to resonate in the way that it did.”
The novel became an international bestseller and later spawned sequels, cementing Moyes’ status as one of the world’s most successful contemporary romance writers.
From Page to Screen
The book was adapted into a 2016 film starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, introducing the story to an even wider audience and further boosting the novel’s global reach.
Remembering Sophie Kinsella
Kinsella, whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022. She died earlier this month at the age of 55. Moyes remembered her as a “wonderful, warm woman” whose kindness extended beyond friendship and into creative encouragement.
