The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo

 

In The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo coming out March 18, Lucy recounts the life of her first love, Gabriel, who she met in college in New York City. Gabriel became a war photographer and Lucy produces children’s programming.

She lost Gabe almost ten years ago, and his editor at the Associated Press wants to do an update of Gabe’s book. Lucy has been asked to share Gabe’s photographs for the project. As she digs into the box of his old photos, an address in Italy written on a scrap of paper is intriguing. Impulsively Lucy buys a ticket to Italy to find who lived at the address.

As she uncovers Gabe’s secret, she encounters Dr. Dax Armstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with a non-governmental organization. Lucy and the doctor become involved over two days in Italy though they promise to renew their acquaintance when he cycles back to New York.

For seven years, Lucy has been divorced from Darren with whom she shares three children. She had been unfaithful to Darren, having shattered their marriage with the information that their youngest child Samuel was not biologically Darren’s.

With her memories of Gabe renewed through the photo project, she believes it is the right time to tell Samuel about his biological father. Darren, adamant that the time is not right to tell Sammy, feels threatened and refuses. But Lucy wants to set herself free of this secret, hoping to chart a new journey for her broken heart with the doctor she met in Italy.

How will Sammy respond to the news that he has a father other than Darren? What will her two older children think about this change in their family dynamic? What are the next steps she can take to put her regret behind her and forge a life with a new love?

Designed as a follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club pick of 2018 The Light We Lost, The Love We Found can be read as a standalone.

Jill Santopolo is the Editorial Director of Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group. She lives in New York City.