The light we lost by Jill Santopolo

"This love story between Lucy & Gabe spans decades and continents as two star-crossed lovers try to return to each other…Will they ever meet again? This book kept me up at night, turning the pages to find out, and the ending did not disappoint. "

—Reese Witherspoon

Lucy and Gabe are both distraught by the events of 9/11, but it’s also the day their love is set in motion. Theirs is a whirlwind romance, a “wildfire,” as Lucy describes it. In one sense Lucy and Gabe are like star-crossed lovers. In another sense, as their relationship progresses, Lucy knows that what she has with Gabe—despite its consuming, unquestionable love—will never be enough to make her truly happy. Gabe is a restless dreamer; as much as he loves Lucy, his passion for photojournalism and obsession with making his life meaningful threatens to tear them apart.

With Gabe gone and the fate of their relationship a question mark, Lucy is alone again. And then there is Darren; sweet, thoughtful, steady Darren, who shows Lucy a different kind of love. If Gabe is a wildfire, Darren is a hearth fire. Which type of fire is better is one of the profound questions Santopolo poses in the novel. Perhaps such distinctive types of love aren’t even comparable.

"Love does that. It makes you feel infinite and invincible, like the whole world is open to you, anything is achievable, and each day will be filled with wonder. Maybe it’s the act of opening yourself up, letting someone else in— or maybe it’s the act of caring so deeply about another person that it expands your heart. I’ve heard so many people say some version of I never knew how much I could love another human being until . . . And after the until is usually something like my niece was born or I gave birth to a child or I adopted a baby. I never knew how much I could love another human being until I met you, Gabe.
I’ll never forget that.

What lends this story a unique feel, in my opinion, is the way Jill santopolo tells it. Through the eyes of Lucy, a woman living in New York, we’re given a front row seat to an all-consuming, passion-filled, crazy-intense love—the kind that you experience once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky.

This story delves deep and through Lucy examines how our decisions—the compromises or lack thereof, the burning desire to chase our dreams or willingness to set them aside and the acceptance or rejection of another’s perceived flaws—ultimately shape the lives we lead and the relationships that remain a constant. Is being together a twist of fate at all or is it more of a conscious choice?

The only other thing I’m going to say about this story, prepare yourself. Not only for a book that’s impossible to put down, one that will own you for the entire time it takes to read and most likely days, if not weeks after, but for a story that will leave you emotionally gutted. Lucy and Gabe's journey is incredibly heartbreaking and what made it even a touch more powerful was reading the author’s acknowledgements—her candid admission that she started writing this book after going through a breakup of her own.

This is an astonishingly beautiful and raw look at what drives most of us—finding that one person who leaves a permanent mark on our soul and the desire to always keep them close.

Love,

The romance reader💋