Briefly, Forever

**Full of joy and wisdom, a heart-stopping, emotional debut showing that a life isn't measured in how long it stretches, but in how much love it can hold. “It’s A Man Called Ove, but better. Like a perfect piece of music, there is not an off note in this entire book. I loved it.” —Annabel Monaghan** Alexander Kirk writes perfect love stories—but he doesn’t believe in them. When his favorite café is taken over by Wendy, a quirky single mother with two kids and strawberry earrings, their relationship unfolds exactly like the romances Alexander pens: enemies to lovers, laughter, longing, and a happiness that feels almost scripted. Except this isn’t fiction. Briefly, Forever begins where most love stories end—with loss. Told through three timelines, the novel traces the tender beginnings of Alexander and Wendy’s relationship while following Alexander as he learns how to parent—and love—her children without her. It is a story about grief and joy, about the power and limits of art, and about loving fully even when forever is not guaranteed. Briefly, Forever reminds us that happily ever after isn’t the point. That the strangeness and beauty of being alive, of loving and living, is more than enough.