Who wrote the book A Walk to Remember?

The copyright on this book is 1999. In another book written by Sparks, "Three Weeks With My Brother" (a memoir of a great trip he and his brother took together) he says that "A Walk To Remember" was inspired by his younger (I believe) sister who he lost to an illness. I read the book a long time ago, so I don't remember the specifics anymore, but I do remember that he described his sister as a very tender person (not unlike Jamie in A Walk to remember.) I was touched by that so I thought I'd share it. If you want to get to know who Nicholas Sparks is, read the book, "Three Weeks ..."