Maddie Butler has been haunted for fourteen years. After the suspicious death of a friend when she was twenty-two, Maddie tried to move on, convincing herself there was nothing she could have done. Now in an unfulfilling marriage, she realizes how much the guilt has led to an unhappy life.

When she runs into her ex-boyfriend, the memories come flying back in full force. Burdened with regret and unhappiness, Maddie wonders how her life could have been different. The next morning, she wakes up twenty-six years old and in a completely different life. Her daughters don’t exist, her husband is nowhere to be found, and her friend is still alive, four years after her funeral.

As Maddie navigates this new world, she realizes she is the product of her own unhappiness. But is this new do-over exactly what she needs, even if it means never seeing her daughters again?

Maggie Giles is a Canadian author who writes suspenseful women's fiction and thrillers. Her debut novel, The Things We Lost, was named a 2023 Distinguished Favourite in Women's Fiction at the Independent Press Awards. Maggie has been a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association since 2014 where she previously worked as their Social Media Director. Currently she works in Marketing. Maggie dove into writing a novel head first despite having aphantasia, a condition where one lacks a visual imagination. She lives in Ontario with her mastiff-mix, Jolene, and spends most of her days enjoying the outdoors, from swimming to hiking to skiing in the winter.

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In THE THINGS WE LOST, debut author, Maggie Giles has crafted a page-turning contemporary allegory about the domino effect of our choices and our desires. Book clubs are sure to devour this one, as Maddie Butler's "Then" and "Now" intertwine and interrupt with unexpected twists and reveals that will have readers contemplating the "What If?" in their own lives as well! -Amy Impellizzeri Award-winning Author of Lemongrass Hope

This intriguing Sliding Doors-style story makes the reader think about how a single decision can change our entire future. Both suspenseful and emotional, THE THINGS WE LOST will keep you turning pages right until the end. - Kathleen Barber - Author of Are You Sleeping