Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas (2005) Plot Summary Explained

Matt broke up with Katie because he was still consumed by grief and guilt over the deaths of his first wife Suzanne and their son Nicholas. He couldn't bring himself to move on from his past, and he didn't feel he deserved happiness with Katie. The diary he sent her was his way of finally explaining the tragedy that had haunted him.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the diary, Matt writes about feeling lucky to have Suzanne, hinting at the depth of his loss that would later consume him.

• matt harrison
• katie wilkinson
• breakup
• grief
• diary

Suzanne died from a heart attack while driving to pick up Nicholas's photos from a professional studio. She lost control of the car and crashed, killing both herself and her son Nicholas. This tragic accident happened when Nicholas was almost a year old.

Foreshadowing: The diary mentions Suzanne planning to get Nicholas's pictures taken and describes her as having recovered from her previous health issues, making the sudden accident feel tragically ironic.

• suzanne
• nicholas
• car accident
• heart attack
• death

Suzanne's fiancé left her partly because he believed they wouldn't be able to have children due to her health issues after her young heart attack. This abandonment, combined with the trauma of her medical crisis, prompted Suzanne to leave Boston and start fresh on Martha's Vineyard.

Foreshadowing: Suzanne's earlier health struggles and her desire for a new beginning establish her vulnerability and the significance of finding love with Matt later.

• suzanne
• boston
• heart attack
• fiancé
• children

Matt cannot move on because he blames himself for the deaths of Suzanne and Nicholas. He was the one who encouraged Suzanne to go pick up the photos that day, and he has lived with the guilt of surviving while they both died. This overwhelming grief and self-blame have kept him from allowing himself to love again.

Foreshadowing: Throughout Suzanne's diary entries, Matt is portrayed as a supportive, devoted husband, making his later guilt and inability to cope feel like a natural but devastating character progression.

• matt harrison
• guilt
• grief
• survival
• forgiveness

Katie discovered that Matt's mysterious breakup and emotional distance stemmed from a devastating past. His first wife Suzanne and their young son Nicholas both died in a car crash caused by Suzanne's heart attack. This explained his overwhelming grief and why he pushed Katie away, believing he didn't deserve a new chance at love.

Foreshadowing: The diary's shift from Suzanne's hopeful entries to Matt's grief-filled ones foreshadows the tragic truth Katie would eventually learn.

• katie wilkinson
• diary
• revelation
• truth
• past

Katie traveled to Martha's Vineyard to pay her respects at the graves of Suzanne and Nicholas and to visit the house where Matt had lived with his family. There she met Matt's old friend Melanie, who assured her that Matt truly loves her, helping Katie understand that Matt's distance came from grief rather than a lack of feelings.

Foreshadowing: The diary describes the house on Martha's Vineyard as the place where Suzanne and Matt built their life together, making Katie's pilgrimage a meaningful closure to the story.

• martha's vineyard
• katie
• graves
• melanie
• house

During her second pregnancy, Suzanne developed toxemia, a serious condition that required hospitalization. She lost the baby as a result of the complication. However, with Matt's support, she recovered physically and wrote in her diary about feeling lucky to have the life she did.

Foreshadowing: Suzanne's gratitude for her life despite this loss foreshadows her positive outlook and the ironic tragedy of her later death.

• suzanne
• pregnancy
• toxemia
• hospital
• loss

Yes, Katie discovers she is pregnant with Matt's child. This revelation adds complexity to her feelings about their relationship and motivates her to reconsider whether she can forgive Matt and build a life with him despite his painful past.

Foreshadowing: The timing of Katie's pregnancy parallels Suzanne's story of starting a family, creating a hopeful cyclical quality to the narrative.

• katie
• pregnancy
• baby
• matt
• reconcile

Yes, Matt genuinely loves Katie. His old friend Melanie confirms this to Katie during her visit to Martha's Vineyard. Matt's inability to be with Katie stemmed from his guilt and grief, not a lack of love. He eventually appears at her office to beg for forgiveness, proving his feelings are real.

Foreshadowing: Matt's decision to send Katie the diary instead of simply walking away suggests he wanted her to understand his past and potentially find a way back to him.

• matt
• katie
• love
• melanie
• forgiveness

"Isn't it lucky?" is a phrase from Suzanne's diary that Katie recalls on her wedding day. It represents Suzanne's gratitude for her life despite its hardships. Katie embraces this same perspective, choosing to be grateful for her second chance at love with Matt rather than dwelling on the tragedy that came before.

Foreshadowing: Suzanne writes about feeling lucky multiple times throughout her diary entries, establishing the phrase as a central theme of appreciating life's blessings.

• isn't it lucky
• suzanne
• gratitude
• wedding
• ending