- Ali Harris

This Wasn't Meant to Happen

By Ali Harris

‘A beautiful, brave, important book…devastatingly sad, yet still filled with light, hope and so much love’ Sunday Times Bestseller Paige Toon

This wasn’t meant to happen. But it did.

Sofie Jensen has always lived by logic — calculating risk, staying in control, believing that if she did everything right, life would follow the rules. But nothing could prepare her for the unimaginable: the stillbirth of her baby boy.

Now, grief carves a hollow space where joy once lived, and love — so fierce, so fragile — teeters on the edge. Nothing adds up anymore. Not the life she had. Not the future she imagined.

Told with quiet strength and breathtaking honesty, This Wasn’t Meant to Happen is a searing but beautiful portrait of love, grief and the tender, complicated path back to hope. For anyone who has ever lost, longed, or held on when letting go felt impossible.

‘Oh my heart. This is a book that lands deeply’ Sunday Times Bestseller Giovanna Fletcher

Author: Ali Harris
Format: Paperback
Release Date: 11 Sep 2025
Pages: 384
ISBN: 978-0-00-870846-7
Price: £9.99, £9.99 (Export Price) , €None
Ali Harris lives in Cambridge with her husband and three children. She has a degree in Performing Arts and cites theatre as her third love – after her family and books. There’s not a musical she’s seen (and she’s seen many!) that she hasn’t loved.Prior to having children, Ali was a journalist and wrote for a variety of women’s magazines including Glamour, Cosmo, Red, Stylist and ELLE.She is the author of three previous novels, including Sunday Times bestsellers Miracle on Regent Street and The First Last Kiss, as well as Written In The Stars. Her upcoming novel was written after a prolonged break following the loss of her baby girl, late in pregnancy.

Praise for Ali Harris: -

'An adorable, heartwarming tale of love and friendship which bubbles with tenderness. Love it' Marie Claire -

'Not since One Day's Emma and Dexter have we fallen so hard for a literary couple…The First Last Kiss will burrow deep inside your head and heart, and will stay there long after you finish reading. 5 stars.' Heat -

'A very cleverly put-together, almost cinematic novel…Hugely enjoyable.' Red -

'It's so refreshing to read a love story where we couldn't predict the end. Heartbreakingly brilliant.' Company -

'An intoxicating cocktail of heartbreak and happiness.' Easy Living -

'This nicely-written tale of first love, lost love and second chances is just the sort of thing to be made into a movie.' Star -

'A real weepy, The First Last Kiss makes you laugh too.' Daily Express -