Everything After

By: Jill Santopolo

Narrated by: Jill Santopolo

The Light We Lost mixes with a touch of Daisy Jones and the Six in this novel of first love, passion, and the power of choice—and how we cannot escape the people we are meant to be.

Two loves. Two choices. One chance to follow her dreams.

Emily has come a long way since she lost her two passions fifteen years ago: music, and Rob. She's a psychologist at NYU who helps troubled college students like the one she once was. Together with her caring doctor husband, Ezra, she has a beautiful life. They're happy. They hope to start a family. But when a tragic event in Emily's present too closely echoes her past, and parts of her story that she'd hoped never to share come to light, her perfect life is suddenly upturned. Then Emily hears a song on the radio about the woman who got away. The melody and voice are hauntingly familiar. Could it be? As Emily's past passions come roaring back into her life, she'll find herself asking: Who is she meant to be? Who is she meant to love?

Critic reviews

Advance Praise for Everything After

“An emotional and uplifting tale of great love and great loss, and the seductive power of second chances. Nobody does page-turning, heart-wrenching love stories quite like Jill Santopolo.” —Rosie Walsh, author of Ghosted

“[A] profound contemporary romance…Santopolo crafts an unconventional but realistic love triangle by celebrating her characters’ flaws and grounding the story in earnest emotion. This moving tale is sure to entice.” –Publishers Weekly

"Jill Santopolo writes so beautifully and powerfully about love and life, with all its twists and turns, imperfections and unpredictability. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you reconnected with your first love (and haven’t we all?) then this story is for you. Two intertwined love stories written with such depth and emotion that you want them both to work out. But that’s just not possible...." —Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity Project

“Santopolo draws tears with this one, even from the least sentimental readers.” –Palm Beach Daily News

“Offer this to fans of women’s stories like those by Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid, readers who appreciate a good “what if...?” and those who like interpersonal drama set in New York City.” –Booklist

“More than just a love triangle, the story explores difficult topics ranging from grief and loss to self-doubt and suicide…[a] romantic tale about the importance of compromise and growth in relationships.” –Kirkus Reviews

“A thoughtful, life-affirming exploration of choice, regret and missed opportunity. I’m sure we all have a sense of that life unlived; whether it would have been better or more fulfilling to have taken another fork in the road, and this book allows that longing to play out, with all the subsequent messiness and upheaval. Santopolo deftly untangles those knots in the necklace, arriving at a rich and satisfying conclusion.” —Beth Morrey, author of The Love Story of Missy Carmichael

“Emotional and uplifting, Everything After poses powerful questions about dreams and regrets, choices and second chances. Emily’s journey is a compelling and heartfelt exploration of marriage, honesty and staying true to yourself when life has other ideas. A book that will resonate with so many, and a must-read for anyone who’s ever asked themselves, What if?" —Holly Miller, author of The Sight of You

Meh...

I was excited to read this book and the story had great potential, but it never could keep my attention. Most books that I listen to on Audible take 1-2 days to finish and this one was not interesting enough to hold my attention long enough so it took a couple of weeks to finish. I almost didn’t finish it, and I would have been okay with that. Not sure what it was about it that made me feel this way—the melancholy attitude that the main character had the entire time, her strange choices, the lack of real excitement in the plot? Maybe all of it.

Eh… just ok.

Kinda boring. Not like the other books. I zoned out and had to rewind a lot.

Loved it but still prefer the light we lost

I really adored the story and finished it quickly I was hooked. The one thing I didn’t like is Jill singing while reading the book. Since she’s not a singer it takes from the feel that we are talking about great musicians.

For the the light we lost was so much more !!! The way it broke my heart and still had a beautiful ending was better than this one. In a way I think Rob didn’t even have a chances

Beach reading in March

I think this is the first book I’ve listened to that the author has read and that’s interesting to me.
I listened to it in just over a day. I really enjoyed her earlier book. This one kept me interested, but ... beach reading in March!

2 thoughts.

I loved her journal entries, super cathartic. But I legitimately hated her idiot husband and am baffled by some of the choices the main character made in this book. Under stress, I too, make stupid decisions, so all is forgiven. But yeah, team anyone but Ezra.