Twenty-seven hours after Maddy’s birth, Liz unexpectedly died after suffering a pulmonary embolism, leaving her husband to raise their daughter as a single father.
Though he’s a single parent, Logelin realizes he has a community of friends and family to help shape Maddy’s life, and he must learn how to lean on them, especially as she grows older.
Logelin’s real life story was first captured on his blog, where he shared updates about navigating the loss of his wife amid the chaos of looking after a newborn.
The pair met as teenagers, entering a long-distance relationship while they were in college that continued post-grad as Liz worked as a management consultant in California and Matt studied sociology at a graduate program in Chicago.
As Logelin described in his book, Liz’s pregnancy was not easy and she was in the hospital on bedrest for several weeks before their daughter’s birth.
Pulmonary embolisms are one of the most severe complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth, and, according to Weill Cornell Medicine, are one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in developed countries as of 2017.
He found an outpouring of support from friends and strangers—thousands of people read his posts, and many left comments, with some offering parenting advice and others expressing sympathy over Logelin’s loss.
In a review for the Hollywood Reporter, Andy Lewis wrote that the book was “heartbreaking, raw, moving and uplifting at the same time.” Producer David Beaubaire was moved by Logelin’s story, which he read after his daughter was born.
“The author of the book is a white man, but ultimately the notion that you can build on his story and can create this experience for Black fathers that we haven’t seen in cinema in many, many years was deeply exciting,” Hart told Insider in June.
“I hope they will get some inspiration from it, and they’ll just be blown away by Kevin and his ability to bring my experience and my feelings to the screen,” Logelin said.