You Will Not Have My Hate

Written by Antoine Leiris

Narrated by Gildart Jackson

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - "On Friday night you stole the life of an exceptional person, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you will not have my hate."

On November 13, 2015, Antoine Leiris’s wife, Hélène Muyal-Leiris, was killed by terrorists while attending a rock concert at the Bataclan Theater in Paris, in the deadliest attack on France since World War II. Three days later, Leiris wrote an open letter addressed directly to his wife’s killers, which he posted on Facebook. He refused to be cowed or to let his seventeen-month-old son’s life be defined by Hélène’s murder. He refused to let the killers have their way: “For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom.” Instantly, that short Facebook post caught fire, and was reported on by newspapers and television stations all over the world. In his determination to honor the memory of his wife, he became an international hero to everyone searching desperately for a way to deal with the horror of the Paris attacks and the grim shadow cast today by the threat of terrorism.
 
Now Leiris tells the full story of his grief and struggle. You Will Not Have My Hate is a remarkable, heartbreaking, and, indeed, beautiful memoir of how he and his baby son, Melvil, endured in the days and weeks after Hélène’s murder. With absolute emotional courage and openness, he somehow finds a way to answer that impossible question: how can I go on? He visits Hélène’s body at the morgue, has to tell Melvil that Mommy will not be coming home, and buries the woman he had planned to spend the rest of his life with.

Leiris’s grief is terrible, but his love for his family is indomitable. This is the rare and unforgettable testimony of a survivor, and a universal message of hope and resilience. Leiris confronts an incomprehensible pain with a humbling generosity and grandeur of spirit. He is a guiding star for us all in these perilous times. His message—hate will be vanquished by love—is eternal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Oct 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524723200

Reviews for You Will Not Have My Hate

[orangewords · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Devastating.

[secondhandrose_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a heartbreaking and beautiful treatise on grief.
After losing his wife in the Bataclan attack, Antoine Leiris posted on Facebook and was flooded with support and appreciation. Following the post he immediately started writing this book. Although it was heartbreakingly sad, Leiris’ background as a cultural commentator and journalist meant his writing was spare, sharp and exquisitely beautiful.
I raced through this and will probably read it again at a more leisurely pace.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to classify what exactly this book is - a message? a memoir? an essay? It's a brief work, recounting the emotional journey of the author following the death of his wife in the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. Overall, this is a touching account and one with a message I don't know I could adhere to if placed in the author's shoes: he refuses to hate the terrorists who murdered his wife.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick, searing, emotional read that readers will struggle not to cry their way through. Antoine Leiris writes a moving memoir of grief in response to his wife's murder. Helene was one of the many killed in a terrorist attack at a theater in Paris and Antoine writes movingly about the search for her, the aftermath, trying to move on and care for their infant son knowing that he will have to care for him solo without his wife's loving smile and care. Beautiful and eloquently written. Read this with a box of tissues at the ready.

[joecanas_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars. This is Antoine Leiris' brief, emotional tribute to his wife Hélène, who was among the victims at the Bataclan theatre the night of the Paris attacks on 11/13/15. Antoine refused to be cowed or to let his seventeen-month-old son’s life be defined by Hélène’s murder. He refused to let the killers have their way: “For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom.”

We lived a couple of blocks from the Bataclan in 2010-11, and we walked past it nearly every day. I'd wanted to see various bands playing there during our stay, but I never made it to a show. We were glued to the news that night in 2013, shocked to learn our neighborhood was under attack. In June of this year, I visited the now-restored Bataclan, and I couldn't help but cry. The ghosts are still hovering nearby.

[melissarochelle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read on September 11, 2016

This is a book for everyone. It is short so no excuse about the length, it is moving, it is real, it is raw. Leiris' loss is felt through his words. This goes further than his open letter on Facebook and gives us a glimpse into his and his son's lives in the immediate days after Helene is murdered. Leiris has the horrible task of having to continue to parent while grieving. He beautifully shares his story here.