Stephen Agnew.
A sailor, a father, and a man writing from an intensely personal place: the story of a love he believes has never really left him.
A life built near the water, a love found by chance.
Stephen met Jacqueline in 2002, while she was chairing a strata meeting for a retirement village he had built at Byron Bay. He knew instantly, he writes, that here was a woman who took charge — and he was completely taken with her from that first meeting.
The day after they met for coffee and discovered how much they had in common, he kissed her for the first time. “I had just kissed an angel,” he writes of that moment. It became the beginning of a relationship that shaped the rest of his life — and, he believes, continues still.
The road to Broken Head.
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2002 · Byron Bay
Meeting Jacqueline
Stephen meets Jacqueline as she chairs a strata meeting for a retirement village he had built — and recognises something instantly familiar in her.
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Life together
Sixteen years at Broken Head
Stephen and Jacqui build a life together at Broken Head, just south of Byron Bay — years he describes as the best of their lives.
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8 September 2023
Jacqui's ascension
Jacqueline passes peacefully in her sleep, at 6.03pm — a moment Stephen describes not as an ending, but as her transition to another realm.
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After
Writing Jacqueline
Stephen begins documenting the signs, messages and synchronicities that follow — the manuscript that became this book.
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Today
Sailing the east coast
Stephen now sails the east coast of Australia aboard a catamaran he has named “Jacqueline” — a lifelong love of the water that Jacqui never quite shared, but always encouraged.
A builder's hands, a sailor's heart.
Away from the manuscript, Stephen has spent a lifetime near water — surfing, fishing and sailing since his school days. Earlier in life, he ran macadamia nut farms with his father and brother Graham. Today, he is still surrounded by his children and grandchildren, and still feels Jacqui's presence most at Broken Head.
I had just kissed an angel.Stephen Agnew, on meeting Jacqueline
Why Stephen wrote this book.
“It isn't just a story that provides me comfort — though it does that too. Much of it is objective, offering real and, I believe, irrefutable evidence that those who have passed can reconnect with those they love.”
Read the introductionReach out to Stephen.
For questions about the book, the author, or to share your own story of love and loss — Stephen reads every message personally.
Contact Stephen