We all have ghosts. They may not be the kind that creep in the dark or haunt abandoned houses, but they are there. Some ghosts are regrets, some are unspoken words, and some are the people we’ve lost along the way. They linger in our thoughts, in our dreams, in the moments when we least expect them. When I was writing The Desire of the Ghost in Me, I knew the ghost in Paris’s story wasn’t just a supernatural presence. It was something much deeper. It was the weight of everything she carried—her grief, her past, her longing for the love she never truly had. It wasn’t something external—it was internal, a manifestation of all the emotions she had yet to process.
Paris’s ghost follows her, appearing in moments of vulnerability. It’s not just a reminder of her mother, but a reflection of all the things she hasn’t faced. I think that’s something we all go through. How many times have we tried to bury our pain, only for it to resurface at the worst possible moment? How often do we pretend we’re okay when, deep down, we’re still haunted by the past?
The ghost is not just a symbol of loss, but of unresolved emotions. It represents grief, but also regret. It embodies the memories of what could have been, the lingering pain of abandonment, and the fear that those wounds will never fully heal. Paris’s ghost is the voice of her inner struggles, the silent reminder that she still has work to do on herself.
Isn’t that what happens to all of us? We carry our own ghosts—shadows of past relationships, failures, heartbreaks, and moments of deep sorrow. We may think we’ve moved on, but then something happens—a familiar scent, a song on the radio, a place we once visited—and suddenly, we are back in the past, reliving it all over again.
Paris tries to ignore her ghost, but the more she runs from it, the stronger it becomes. That’s what grief and trauma do. They don’t disappear just because we wish them away. They demand to be acknowledged, to be felt. The longer we suppress them, the heavier they become.
This is something I wanted to explore deeply in The Desire of the Ghost in Me—the idea that running from pain doesn’t make it go away. In fact, it often makes it worse. Paris learns that she can’t outrun her past, no matter how hard she tries. The ghost will always be there, waiting, because it isn’t something outside of her—it’s a part of her.
I think we all try to escape our ghosts in different ways. Some people distract themselves with work or relationships. Others push their emotions down so far that they don’t even realize they’re suffering. But eventually, those feelings find a way out. They surface in unexpected ways—in anxiety, in self-doubt, in patterns that repeat themselves over and over again.
The ghost in this book isn’t just there to scare Paris—it’s there to teach her. It’s there to show her that she can’t move forward until she makes peace with her past. And isn’t that true for all of us?
When I was writing this, I thought a lot about the things that haunt us. The things we wish we could undo, the people we wish we could bring back, the words we never said. But I also thought about how facing those ghosts can set us free.
Paris learns that her ghost isn’t just a reminder of pain—it’s a guide. It’s pushing her toward self-reflection, toward growth, toward healing. That’s something I hope readers take with them that sometimes, the things we fear most are the very things that will help us grow.
It’s not easy to face the past. It’s uncomfortable, it’s painful, and it forces us to confront truths we may not be ready for. But when we do, we take back our power. We stop letting our ghosts control us. We acknowledge them, learn from them, and finally, let them rest.
Paris’s story is one that many people can relate to, even if their ghosts look different from hers. We all have something we’re running from, something we don’t want to face. But the truth is, the only way to heal is to stop running. If you’ve ever felt haunted by your past, by things left unsaid or emotions unprocessed, read The Desire of the Ghost in Me. Paris’s story might just help you find the courage to face your own ghosts.
