Everything After
“It’s hard to live in the land of what if. And the longer you live, the more what ifs you collect.”
If I’m not careful, this blog will soon turn into a Jill Santopolo fan page, but since I’m going to have the chance to speak with her in a couple weeks (eeek!!!), I couldn’t resist.
Some context…
Emily and her husband, Ezra, fix people. She, a psychologist, mends their minds and hearts, while he, a pediatric oncologist, heals their bodies. It was his destiny from the beginning but not hers. Emily’s path had been defined by her music and Rob–two passions that had melded together whether she liked it or not. When she lost one, she was forced to say goodbye to the other, even if it shattered her.
Fifteen years later, she is settled and happy, hardly ever revisiting her troubling past. Then, she is faced with an all too familiar tragedy that transports her back in time. Her most private and most difficult moments are brought to the surface, and she feels her reinvention slowly unraveling. As fate would have it, Rob suddenly returns to her world and reignites the fire she hadn’t felt in more than a decade. Does choosing her music mean abandoning her new life? Does choosing herself mean losing the people she loves?
Some thoughts…
While most of the book is written in the third person, a large portion takes the form of journal entries from an adolescent Emily. These were easily my favorite pieces of the text because of the rawness and vulnerability they offered readers. Because I try to keep this blog spoiler free, I won’t say who this diary is directed at. I will say, however, that it will both touch and teach you.
Although a focal point of this book was the “love triangle” between Emily, Ezra, and Rob, I found myself most affected by the relationship between Emily and her older sister, Ari. The women are each other’s rocks, listening without judgment and giving grace without expecting anything in return. Theirs is the unbreakable bond, and it is beautiful to witness.
At times, the text seemed to lack a sense of urgency driving the story forward. I didn’t know where this book was going until the end, and I’ve yet to decide if this was a strength or weakness. Not always sure of the point being made, I found it difficult to support the characters’ questionable choices. However, the powerful emotions emanating from Emily were enough to convince me to stand by her.
Promoted as “The Light We Lost mixes with a touch of Daisy Jones and the Six,” this book is sure to garner attention and praise with its poignant exploration of one powerful question: do we make choices, or do choices make us?
RATING: ★★★★☆
