The Big Picture

• The Notebook, a love story for the ages, is based on a real-life couple that author Nicholas Sparks met through his ex-wife.
• Sparks drew inspiration for the novel from his ex-wife's grandparents, who shared their love story with him.
• The author never clarified which parts of the novel were fictional, but he found success after six months of writing and the book was later adapted into a film.

Almost two decades later, The Notebook still brings audiences to tears in the hopes of finding someone to grow old with like its lead couple. A classic example of a love story for the ages, the 2004 film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams remains the most lucrative Nicholas Sparks adaptation to date, earning over $116 million worldwide. Although The Notebook's long-term success is undeniable, few people are aware that the story is actually based on a real-life couple that Sparks met through his ex-wife, Cathy.

What Is 'The Notebook' About?

Before getting into the specifics around true events that inspired the hit novel and its film adaptation, here is a refresher to The Notebook. Both the book and the onscreen version follow Noah (James Garner), an elderly man whose life's mission is to tell his wife, Allie (Gena Rowlands), their love story over and over again in the hopes that she might remember it. Every day, he visits her and opens his notebook, convincing Allie to listen to him retell their romantic journey from start to finish. Through flashbacks, viewers and readers alike get to know how the couple (played in the past by Gosling and McAdams) met in their youth and how they were able to maintain their relationship throughout the years despite the obstacles they faced. From parental disapproval to Allie's engagement to another man (played by James Marsden), the main characters spend a long time apart before Allie sees Noah's picture in the paper and decides to pay him a visit.

As the two reconnect in their mid-30s, Noah reveals that he has remained in love with Allie ever since their summer romance and confesses that he has written her more than 365 letters. The reason she didn't know about them was because her mother hid the letters from her. Despite the emotional crossroads that Allie feels at this news, pondering whether she should reconsider her engagement, Allie ends up choosing to stay with her first love. At the end of The Notebook, the elderly version of Allie finally remembers her relationship with Noah for a brief amount of time before her dementia leads her to forget everything. In the movie's final moments, the couple pass away side by side in bed, whereas in the book they make love.

Nicholas Sparks Drew Inspiration for 'The Notebook' From a Real Life Couple

As previously mentioned, there is a true story behind The Notebook. According to a statement from Sparks on his official website, the author drew inspiration for the novel after visiting his ex-wife Cathy's grandparents. Cathy was very close to her grandparents, and felt upset that they wouldn't be able to attend their wedding. For this reason, she and Sparks decided to put on their wedding attire the day after they got married and reenacted the ceremony in her grandparents' living room. While they ate cake and watched footage from the wedding together, the author said that Cathy's grandparents shared their love story with them.

Here is what Sparks shared about them on his website:

"But though their story was wonderful, what I most remember from that day is the way they were treating each other. The way his eyes shined when he looked at her, the way he held her hand, the way he got her tea and took care of her. I remember watching them together and thinking to myself that after sixty years of marriage, these two people were treating each other exactly the same as my wife and I were treating each other after twelve hours. What a wonderful gift they’d given us, I thought, to show us on our first day of marriage that true love can last forever."

How Much of 'The Notebook' Is Based on a True Story?

Although the author said that he was inspired by his ex-wife's grandparents and showcased their tenderness and care for each other through Noah and Allie's relationship, he never made it clear what parts of the novel were fiction and which parts happened in real life. Yet, he did share more information about the writing process of the book. In an interview aired on The Meredith Vieira Show in 2014, Sparks said that this was his third attempt at writing a novel and that he would quit writing if it didn't work out. At the time, he was selling pharmaceuticals and helping his then-wife raise their two children (their youngest being eight months old). Instead of watching TV during the night until the baby woke up, the author decided to use the evenings as a moment to dedicate himself to writing the novel. After six months of working on it, Sparks sent a finalized copy of The Notebook to an agent and received a response in a matter of days. According to him, Warner Books paid over one million dollars in order to acquire the rights to publish the novel.

Since then, several of Sparks' novels have received cinematic treatment. From The Last Song to A Walk to Remember, 11 of his books have been made into films and there are three more currently set to be adapted to the big screen. According to Variety, Universal Pictures is partnering with the author to produce movies based on his novels The Return, The Wish, and Dreamland. In an interview with SiriusXM, the novelist shared more about how his writing process has changed ever since many of his books became films:

"The knowledge that a lot of them will get made into film really comes into play in the conception part of the story, because if I'm going to write a story and it might be a movie, I want it to be original and interesting in both mediums ... I reject a lot of ideas because I don't feel like they will be original either as a book or as a film."

The Notebook is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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