To the Green-eyed Lovebird: 
 We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. 
 You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. 
 We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn't stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. 
 Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding... 
 I didn't see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn't know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. 
 After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I've spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? 
 M 
 "Once there was a you and me 
 We were lovers 
 We were friends 
 Before life changed 
 Before we were strangers 
 Do you still think of me?" 
 "You can't re-create the first time you promise to love someone or the first time you feel loved by another. You cannot relive the sensation of fear, admiration, self-consciousness, passion, and desire all mixed into one because it never happens twice. You chase it like the first high for the rest of your life. It doesn't mean you can't love another or move on; it just means that the one spontaneous moment, the split second that you took the leap, when your heart was racing and your mind was muddled with What ifs?--that moment--will never happen the same way again. It will never feel as intense as the first time." 
 Holy hell, this book!!! When I got about 70% of the way through, the flood gates burst and I couldn't stop crying. The story was like a slow, gradual burn, and then...boom! Inferno. I've said before that I love stories that span a long period of time and this was one of those stories. I actually finished this book over a week ago and wanted to let all my thoughts simmer for a bit. If anything my love for this book and these characters has only strengthened. 
 "We memorialize our past. Everything seems better in a memory." 
 The story starts with Matt, a 36-year old photographer who has had a dream career with National Geographic is discontent with his life. Working a desk job in NYC and sharing the same office space with his ex-wife and her current husband, he's itching for something more in his life. When boss and best friend drags him out to lunch, they head to the subway. While he's waiting, he sees a beautiful blonde girl get on. As the doors are closing, he recognizes the girl as Grace, the love of his life/the one that got away. He returns to the train station every day at the same time in hopes to run into her, but after a month of searching, he loses hope that he might find her. Desperate to find her and not getting any results on social media, his friend suggests he use Craigslist's Missed Connections. This gives Matt and Grace a second chance after a 15 year long separation and a chance to find out what happened to them and why they fell apart. 
 "It was like the universe was teasing us; we saw each other just a second too late." 
 "We were victims of bad timing. But here we are again." 
 The story then takes us back to the beginning. Matt is a transfer to NYU from California moving his stuff into the dorm, when he meets Grace. She's a beautiful, quirky blonde girl studying music with a passion for the cello. They find out that they are next door neighbors in their dorm and quickly become fast friends. Grace takes him to get breakfast for dinner in their pajamas, smoking pot in the park, giving blood in exchange for free donuts and coffee. Their friendship quickly blurs the line between friends and lovers as they both fall in love with each other. Both thoroughly invested in their futures that are leading them in separate directions, they hold on to their love. But, sometimes, that's not always enough. 
 "Heart slayed. He owned me." 
 We get their back story in bits from Matt and pieces from Grace. There are so many times where you think you know what happened to them. You've got it all figured out and then you get another piece of the puzzle. 
 "The present is our own. The right-this-second, the here-and-now, this moment before the next, is ours for the taking. It's the only free gift the universe has to offer. The past doesn't belong to us anymore, and the future is just a fantasy, never guaranteed. But the present is ours to own. The only way we can realize that fantasy is if we embrace the now." 
 When Grace reads the article where (view spoiler)[Elizabeth says Matt will be going on a 6 month long expedition with her and the miscommunication with Aletha, I was so unbelievably pissed at Matt. When Elizabeth tells Matt that Grace tried contacting them, but says she wrote her because they were "already fucking", I wanted to slap him. How could he have just left Grace and moved on without a word?? (hide spoiler)] Then I thought, "this flakiness and insensitivity doesn't seem like the Matt I grew to love in this story, so there has to be more to it." I was right. 
 "Fifteen years is too long to be holding on to a few heart-pounding moments from college." 
 Don't worry, Matt, I eventually turned all my anger and frustration to Grace. Gahhhh!!! I wish I could comment, but I don't want to give anything away. 
 Needless to say, I had a few moments where I had my doubts that these two could overcome all life had thrown at them. Like all good love stories, Before We Were Strangers had lots of laughter and tears. 
 "You were always with me, Grace. I never found a way to let you go." 
 This is the ultimate story of how a simple miscommunication can change the whole course of your life. I'm glad that the story started in the present and then looked back. There is so much angst in this story that I feel like if I had been introduced to Matt and Grace in college, fell in love with them while they were falling in love with each other only to see them fall apart, it may have been borderline too much to handle and then fast-forwarding 15 years. In stories like this, I need to be prepared. 
 "The present is our own. The right-this-second, the here-and-now, this moment before the next, is ours for the taking. It's the only free gift the universe has to offer." 
 This story was so heartwarmingly beautiful and truly unique. I've never read anything like it and I'm sure I never will again. All of Renee Carlino's stories are one of a kind, full of heart and soul, and this had all of the ingredients that make it a Renee Carlino novel. Read it and I'd love to know what you think!