Past the Broken Bridges - by B Celeste (Paperback)

About the Book

"Sawyer Hawkins and Paxton Banks were inseparable as children, their secret bridge in Louisiana a sanctuary from the world--until Hurricane Katrina swept them apart. Thirteen years and a lifetime of battles later, fate brings them back together when Sawyer returns for college. Sawyer, unbroken and unapologetically alive after a relentless battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is determined to seize every moment she's been denied. The bucket list she writes is her lifeline: each item a rebellion against the years stolen by illness, each day a chance to taste freedom, friendship, and love. Banks, now a reserved architecture student, carries the weight of his father's abuse and his best friend's addiction, feeling unable to save those he loves. But when he discovers his long-lost friend Sawyer is his new neighbor, her courage and warmth begin to melt through his walls. Their reunion is electric, with witty banter, shared secrets, and a spark that refuses to be extinguished. But as their friendship deepens into a complicated, aching romance, old wounds and new tragedies threaten to tear them apart, and Sawyer's still-declining health becomes impossible to hide. Both must confront the truth: sometimes loving someone means letting them go"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

From the fan-favorite author of Underneath the Sycamore Tree comes another raw, real, and unforgettable story of love and loss.

"When you find things that you love, it's not always easy letting them go, because they become a part of you."

Thirteen years ago, Sawyer Hawkins and her childhood friend Paxton shared secrets and snacks at their favorite wooden footbridge...until Hurricane Katrina forced Sawyer's family to head north. But after the long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that kept her away, twenty-one-year-old Sawyer is finally heading back to Louisiana for university.

Now with a new lease on life, Sawyer wants to be a normal college girl. Check items off her list--make friends, go to parties, fall in love, and find her favorite bridge again. Even if Paxton is no longer there.

And her mysterious, gorgeous neighbor Banks might just be able to help her with that list.

But as their friendship grows, so do the secrets between them. Sawyer's future is more complicated than she lets on, and there's a reason Banks doesn't talk about his home life. The closer they get to one another, the more their bruised hearts are in danger of falling--or breaking. And when Sawyer learns Banks is Paxton Banks, and Banks realizes she's the same Sawyer from long ago, they'll find that while their footbridge may still be standing, it's up to them to cross the distance to each other.