Hewlett native uses miscarriage to explore life

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Accepting who you are, change and finding yourself are some of the inspiring themes in Hewlett native Jill Santopolo’s new book “Everything After” available in March release.

In the book, the main character, Emily, has her life shaken by the traumatic experience of a miscarriage. This echoes her emotions from past life experiences and she ends up exploring a part of herself she once forgot, while allowing every passion she had to filter back into her life. As a result, she explores everything that made her happy and illustrates the person you are meant to be, and the people you are meant to be with.

A 1999 Hewlett High School graduate, Santopolo wrote the book “Everything After” after a handful of her friends experienced miscarriages and thought it was a taboo subject they could not talk about. She said the book would be a safe place for women to relate and share their feelings.

“A part of writing novels for me is making that community, and making people feel less alone with their pain and experiences,” Santopolo said.

When writing the book, Santopolo and her husband were trying to have a baby, and it was not happening as quickly as she had hoped, which was also a catalyst for her inspiration. She said the book could help those who have just gotten married and want to remain themselves while still in an interdependent relationship. “Emily’s husband is dealing with pieces of his wife that he had never known about,” she said.

Santopolo recalled that throughout her life she always loved music, and although she said she is not herself a talented musician, she used the opportunity to have Emily unveil her passion for music and pursue her love for being a musician. “I thought that would be a fun thing to write about and what kind of music she would like and her husband likes, what it says about us,” Santopolo said.

As a result of her love for music, Santopolo said she used this opportunity to connect with her friends who are musicians and create music for the book, which will be featured in her audio version of “Everything After.”

“I love it so much and the music weaving throughout it reminded me of reading ‘Daisy Jones and the Six,’” said G. P. Putnam Executive Editor Tara Singh Carlson. “You’ll be seeking out tissues and the songs that defined your life”

During the coronavirus pandemic, Santopolo took the opportunity to write another book that will be released in 2023 and will be the first book to incorporate historical fiction.

“Everything After” will be released on March 9 of next year by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House. For more information on Santopolo, go to www.jillsantopolo.com.