Before I Go

Abby Gamble has spent a year learning to live with the loss of her husband, Ben, whose plane went down over the Pacific Ocean. Their marriage was close, and the hardships they faced together only deepened it. Believing Ben would want her to keep going, Abby returns to running her cosmetics company, until she meets Joel, a doctor who carries his own painful past. Joel has never forgiven himself for a decision he made as a child, and that regret has driven him to devote his career to saving lives. His bond with Abby suggests a new direction for him, but Abby is not ready to set aside the life she built with Ben.

Ben, however, has not disappeared. Ever since the crash, he has been trying to find his way back to Abby. His journey begins on an island thousands of miles from home, where he finds his journal among the debris that has washed ashore. Its pages hold a series of letters that trace the story of his relationship with Abby. As he rereads them, recalling the future they planned and the joys and setbacks they shared, Ben decides he must try to reach her, even though he has no idea what awaits him if he manages to get home.

The novel also explores how the people we love continue to shape us after they are gone, and how those connections can give life its meaning, often in ways the reader may not expect.