“Selena loved as hard as she lived. We loved her in return – her family, her friends, her fans, and me, her husband, who felt like the luckiest man alive every time Selena said my name.”
This book was written through the lens of her husband, Chris Perez. He shared his intimate feelings for Selena as an artist and his wife, details of her last night and day with him, and even some of his regrets and guilt he has carried all this time. Selena’s father, Abraham, once referred to Chris as the cancer to the Quintanilla family; Meanwhile, the real cancer was Yolanda Saldivar. There were so many red flags, yet everyone was too busy and blinded to notice them.
After Selena’s death, Chris shut off from the world and entered a state of depression, where he stopped eating, caring, and began abusing alcohol and drugs. He grieved in private and refused to answer to the media or her fans. He felt that by answering, he would be accepting Selena’s death.
“You’re going to grieve and go through your ups and downs. Grief never completely goes away, but it eventually becomes a part of you instead of controlling your life.”
He wrote this book because he realized that living a life covering up his true feelings and memories wasn’t helping him forget or heal. In fact, it prevented him from moving forward. Sharing his love for Selena with the world has helped Chris finally come to peace with losing her.
I recommend this book not only to Selena’s fans, but to those who have lost someone they love due to an accident or violence, those who may feel like they’re suffocating in grief. News channels are filled with daily stories of tragic deaths, but we never really think it can happen to us or someone we love. As we get older, we realize that life is short, and tomorrow is never promised. Chris ended the book by saying, “Selena, I’m still dreaming of you.”
These are some of the many photos that were included in the book.
XOXO,
Laura Saucedo