Loose Women's Coleen Nolan says it's 'worst thing' in heartbreaking family confession

Loose Women star Coleen Nolan has admitted she struggled to complete one chapter of her new book. A Hand To Hold explores death and grief but despite the subject matter the ITV star found it mainly theraputic to pen bar one segment.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk she confessed there was one part of the tome that she found difficult to write. "I wanted to cover all forms of death from parents and family and siblings to husbands and wives.

"And animals, you know, people really grieve over animals, and unless you're an animal lover, you don't get it. But it's really as strong as any grief for some people. I'm an animal lover, so I get it.

"But I think the hardest chapter that I found difficult to write, and also difficult then to record for the audio book which I've done, was the chapter on losing a child.

"To me, it has got to be the worst thing ever. And I found it sad listening to people talking about losing a child. I have massive admiration for how they carry on," she said.

In the book she warns readers in advance telling them: "I know for many people this chapter may be hard to read," and she confesses it was the hardest to write.

"That was really the hardest chapter. I didn't find that therapeutic. I found that really hard. But I thought it was really important to include it, because it happens sadly," she reflected.

Given the subject matter Coleen says she only felt able to write the book after she had hosted the Let's Start Talking podcast in which she discussed death, and attitudes to it, with her guests.

"When I did the podcast, and I saw how beneficial it was from the reactions we were getting and then they said, I think we should do this book it made lots of sense and it was therapeutic," she ruminated.

She is hopeful that the book will be of benefit to people who may feel they have nowhere to turn during a time of loss. "I know that the vast majority have lost somebody. Everyone's been touched," she said.

"If it helps them then I think it's a good thing. It probably would have done me good to have a book like this when I first went through grief years ago, when I lost my sister in law, who was 26.

"That was the most shocking thing for me [at the time]. And I think a book like this might have helped me, because not everyone finds it easy to talk to relatives or friends, because you don't want to upset them.

"So to have something [like this would mean] that you could just really go, 'Oh, I'm actually not alone.'"

A Hand To Hold by Coleen Nolan is released on August 29th and available from all booksellers.