Elin Hilderbrand's Cancer Diagnosis Gave Her a Gift — the Wisdom to Retire Her Nantucket-Based Novels

Elin Hilderbrand said that her cancer diagnosis gave her an unexpected gift. In an interview with The Washington Post published on Aug. 31, the beach read author spoke about the "one gift" her breast cancer diagnosis gave her and how it led to her retirement announcement in May. Hildebrand, now 55, was 45 when she was diagnosed in 2014 and underwent a double mastectomy, per CBS. “There is one gift that a cancer diagnosis gives: a new understanding of how precious life is," she told the publication. The realization lead to her ultimately retiring from writing her beloved beach reads and focusing more time on her family.