Book Club Kit
A discussion with
JILL SANTOPOLO Everything After is your third adult novel. What inspired you to write this story? This novel was inspired by two things: First, the fact that I got married in the summer of 2019, and I was thinking a lot about how two people become one unit but still maintain their own separate identities. And second, a few friends of mine experienced miscarriages and spoke to me about what they went through—about how it changed them, how it changed their relationships with their partners and with other people in their lives, and how it made them re-evaluate a lot of their decisions. While I was writing this book, my husband and I were trying to have a child ourselves, so that played into the book as well.
How was writing Everything After similar to or different from writing your previous adult novels, The Light We Lost and More Than Words? Do you have a favorite part of the writing process? With all of my adult novels, I start with emotional situations—a breakup, a lost love, the death of a father, an imploding relationship—and then build characters and a story around the emotions those situations evoke. My favorite part of the process is when the characters and their worlds and stories become clear, and, at that point, coming back to the manuscript each day feels like coming back to newfound friends. I love being able to live in a different world and think about questions in a different way, from a perspective that isn’t quite my own.
What defines Emily, in your opinion, and how did you come to create such an interesting character? Is she based on a real person? Emily is entirely fictional. When I created her, I was thinking a lot about how the things that are important to us when we’re young sometimes fade away as we get older—for example, I used to love acting in plays and continued doing so through college, but I haven’t been in a play in nearly two decades. It’s so interesting to me how those parts of us that seemed so important at one time in our lives lose that power. So I wanted to create someone who, due to a painful experience, rediscovered that passion and had to figure out what it would mean to reintegrate it into her life.
Music plays an integral role in Emily’s personality and relationships. Do you have a personal connection to music? I’ve always loved creating music and played piano, flute, and piccolo as a kid, and also sang in my high school’s show choir and concert chorale. I was never phenomenal at any of those things, but I enjoyed it so much and it became a huge part of who I was and how I spent my time as a teenager. There’s something about creating music that feels a lot to me like writing a book—it’s easy to get lost in the emotion of it, to feel like you’re being transported.
This story pulls back the curtain on a specific type of loss, one that takes a toll on Emily and her relationship with Ezra. Why did you want to explore this theme? What aspects of Emily’s romantic and personal journey did you feel the most connected to? Some years ago, three friends of mine went through miscarriages around the same time, and from talking with them, I realized how isolated and alone they felt. And how their emotions ranged from sorrow to grief to jealousy to guilt and so much more. I believe so strongly that stories make us feel less alone, and I wanted to write this story so that women who experienced the same loss might read this book and feel a little bit less alone. Since my husband and I were trying to get pregnant while I was writing this book, the piece of Emily that longs to be a mom and feels like it’s taking forever (for my husband and I it took seven months, which isn’t forever, but felt like it . . .) is something that I really related to while I was writing.
This is a potentially controversial question, but are you Team Rob or Team Ezra, and why? What do you think each man gives Emily? I don’t think I’m Team Rob or Team Ezra: I’d say I’m Team Emily. I want her to feel happy and fulfilled, no matter who she chooses to be with (or if she chooses not to be with anyone at all). I do think that each of the men she loves gives her something special. Ezra gives her stability and feeds her passion to help other people and to contribute to something larger than herself, and Rob gives her courage and the belief in herself that she needs to dream big dreams and to dedicate herself to making them
come true. I hope that by the end of the book, Emily is able to learn things about herself from both men and incorporate that knowledge into her own personality.
Everything After expertly poses the question to readers: What if you had the chance to do things differently? Is there anything from your own past that you look back on and wonder this about? I often wonder what my life would have been like if I’d chosen to go to a different university. I attended Columbia undergrad, and then ended up falling in love with Manhattan and with book publishing. But what if I’d gone to school in Los Angeles? Would I have wanted to work in Hollywood? Or if I went to school in DC, would I have wanted a job as a speechwriter? Or decided to work in communications for a politician? I wonder how much my choices shaped me and how much of who I am shaped my choices.
Without giving anything away, did you always know how the story would end? I didn’t! I wrote a few different endings to the story because I really wasn’t sure if Emily should end up with Ezra, with Rob, or on her own. Each ending would have taught Emily something different, given her a different realization about herself and her passions, and would’ve given her a different future. They all seemed equally plausible to me, but the way I ended the book felt the most satisfying to me, so that’s the direction I chose. But I love that there are still some unresolved questions in Emily’s life at the end of the book, which kept me thinking about her even after I wrote the final chapter.
Everything After grapples with themes of love, loss, and finding yourself. What do you hope readers will take away from Emily’s story? I hope readers will come away from Emily’s story thinking about their own past passions and whether they want to reclaim some of them. And I hope they also come away from the book with a deeper realization of the fact that so many people are dealing with difficulties secretly and privately and that compassion and support from friends and strangers go a long way.
What’s next for you? I just started working on a new novel tentatively called Jupiter & Juno that is about first love and loss and family, but also jumps back and forth in time and place from Italy in the 1940s to New York City in 2019. It’s been a lot of fun to do historical research and figure out what to include to paint a picture of a particular time and place. I’m hoping this one will be out in 2023!
A Playlist Inspired by the Book ROMEO & JULIET | Dire Straits (Indigo Girls cover) BLACKBIRD | The Beatles LET IT BE | The Beatles HERE COMES THE SUN | The Beatles DUST IN THE WIND | Kansas I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU | Kiss BLUE SKIES | Ella Fitzgerald CASTLE ON THE HILL | Ed Sheeran IF I HAD A HAMMER | Peter, Paul and Mary FAST CAR | Tracy Chapman FIRE AND RAIN | James Taylor BAD MOON RISING | Creedence Clearwater Revival STAND BY ME | Ben E. King TEACH YOUR CHILDREN | Crosby, Stills & Nash
Discussion Questions 1.
In Everything After, Emily must face questions about who she is, what she wants, and whom she loves. Is there a time you have asked these same questions of yourself? If so, how did that journey lead to where you are today?
2. Emily and Rob had a whirlwind romance that ultimately took them down different paths. Who was your first love? What did that relationship teach you, and do you ever reminisce about it?
3. In chapter 44, Emily says, “Life was a blend of choices and not choices, things that we had control over and things we didn’t.” What are the things you have control over and the things you don’t in your life?
4.
6. Loss and grief are two themes that Emily encounters in different points in her life. How do you feel she handled her grief, and what things might you have done differently if placed in her position?
7. Do you feel you are the same person now as you were five years ago? Ten years ago? How are you the same or different?
8. Do you think Emily and Ezra’s relationship was an accurate portrayal of marriage? What moments did you either relate to or not relate to?
9. Discuss what you think it truly means to be a mother, and the effect experiencing Emily’s loss has on a person.
10.
Ari and Priya are there for Emily through thick and thin, especially when she needs guidance. Do you have a Priya or Ari in your life? If so, share a moment when you felt your friend helped you through a tough situation.
Why do you think Emily is drawn to both Ezra and Rob? What makes each of them special in her life? Are you Team Rob or Team Ezra, and why?
5.
11.
What was your favorite scene, and why?
Did the ending surprise you?
Crispy Chocolate Squares INGREDIENTS FOR SQUARES 1 package (10 ounces) miniature marshmallows 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup butter, cubed 2 cups crisp rice cereal 1 cup salted peanuts
INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup butter, cubed
“Chocolate
exists in the world and I get to eat it.”
1/4 cup milk 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
STEPS In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the marshmallows, peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter. Cover and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until well blended (the mixture will be lumpy). Add cereal and peanuts; stir until well coated. Spread into a greased 13inch x 9-inch pan. For the frosting, combine chocolate chips, butter, and milk in another microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla. With an electric mixer, beat frosting until smooth. Spread over the cereal mixture. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Cut into squares.