Jennifer Love Hewitt Learned Her Mom Died from the Press: 'I Didn't Get a Goodbye Moment with Her' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt and her mom, Pat Hewitt.Photo:Courtesy Jennifer Love Hewitt

Courtesy Jennifer Love Hewitt

“The one thing I didn’t put in the book that I’ve been talking about afterwards … maybe didn’t want that to be the focus … But that day, the press actually knew that my mom had passed before I did, which was such a crazy feeling,” Hewitt tells PEOPLE for a story in this week’s print issue. “When I landed and I heard his voice at the airport, I knew in that moment that he would not have left her side if she was still with us.”

Jennifer Love Hewitt and her mom, Pat.Jennifer Love Hewitt/Instagram

“He was waiting for me at the airport, and it had already been published somewhere that my mom had passed,” she continues. “And there was just a lot of stuff about that day that was just so out of my control.“Now, in her new book, Hewitt is sharing her grief journey with readers, as well as spreading her and Pat’s inclination for finding joy. A blend of memoir, self-help and party-planning,Inheriting Magicencourages turning “sorrow to celebration,” per the book’s description, and look at ways to bring light into our lives.

For more on Jennifer Love Hewitt, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and her mom in 1996.Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Read below for an exclusive excerpt from the preface ofInheriting Magic.

BenBella Books

Excerpted with permission from Jennifer Love Hewitt’sInheriting Magic(BenBella Books; December 2024)Inheriting Magicis now available, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com