In This Life and the Next. Gray Area Series

We are often taught that the choices we make in life are clear. They are either right or wrong, good or bad, or black and white. But are they? In This Life and the Next explores love, loyalty, and impossible choices in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. To conceal yet another stillbirth from his wife, a special forces soldier secretly adopts two orphaned infants, Will and Anna, into his household.
Unaware of their true origins, they grow up inseparable. After a second brush with death, their bond deepens into a love that their family, their society, and even their own consciences tell them must never happen. Haunted by memories that are not their own, Will and Anna begin to suspect they are living echoes of another life; two souls who once loved and lost in the rubble of Chinatown. Their connection transcends ordinary bonds, but it comes at the cost of secrecy, guilt, and sacrifice. Written with a sharp focus on psychological realism, this novel asks the questions: Do we choose who we love? What kinds of love are acceptable? How far should we go to protect the people we love most? And most importantly: Is it okay not to have all the answers? It is up to you to decide. In This Life and the Next is a haunting love story for readers drawn to complex moral dilemmas, historical settings, and the gray areas of the human heart.