Heartbreaking true story behind controversial children’s book Love You Forever

The 1986 children's tale by Robert Munsch, I'll Love You Forever, has been a bestseller for decades - but there is also a heartbreaking true story behind the book

There are some children’s books that are enjoyed by generations, despite their age and subject matter. Authors such as Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, and Beatrix Potter — all of whom have passed away — live on through their work which is loved by kids around the world.

One such story is the 1986 children’s tale by Robert Munsch, I’ll Love You Forever, which features the famous line, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

Even if you’re not a parent there’s a good chance you will have heard of it, especially after it was featured during an episode of the comedy series, Friends, in 2003 (The One With The Cake). In the show, Joey gives a dramatic reading of the book as a present to Rachel and Ross’s daughter Emma and reduces everyone to tears.

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The book was a hit, selling millions of copies in its first few years and ranking fourth on Publisher's Weekly best-selling children's books by 2001. But before the poignant four-line poem became a story about a mother-son relationship, Munsch, now 78, used to silently sing it to himself following the birth of his second stillborn child.

Despite adopting three children later, Munsch used his song as a means to mourn their two previous losses.

“[The song] was my way of crying,” the American-Canadian author confessed to The Huffington Post. Munsch and his wife went on to adopt three children but he continued to use his song as a way to grieve their two previous losses. He would sing it to himself like a silent lullaby, never writing it down or saying it out loud. Then, one day, a story popped into his head.

However, the tale about a mother and her son and how she rocks him to sleep throughout his life while singing the poem continues to divide people over whether or not it is “creepy”.

A recent tweet, which has been viewed over 11 million times, sparked a heated debate after a woman confessed she "hates" the book. Commenting on a mum’s post which stated that she had tried to read the story to her kids but couldn’t finish because she was crying so hard, Amber Sparks wrote: "Omg I hate this book so much, it’s like the creepiest proto boy mom book ever."

The book begins with a mother and her baby boy, who she cuddles to sleep while saying the poem. As the boy grows up, the mum still cuddles her son and says the poem, sometimes without him knowing. Towards the end, the son, now a man, is in his own home and his mum takes a ladder to his window and climbs in to cradle him as he sleeps.

In the comments of the tweet people dissected the story with many taking issue with the level the mum went to. One user replied: "Seriously, the details make it worse – she wears gloves to cover her tracks when crawling in. The ladder on the car. It’s calculated obsession."

However, the majority of people rushed to express their love for the story. One person wrote: "I never knew either story (the book or his life) and it made me sob. what a beautiful story." And someone else penned: "Every time I read this to my son, I cry. And now, knowing the backstory, I will more."

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