Some stories arrive in a rush—urgent, unstoppable.
The Space Between Us was not that story.
It was a story that demanded my patience. It urged me to listen, to trust the spaces between words as much as the words themselves. To give silence its shape on the page. This unique writing process is what sets The Space Between Us apart from other stories.
It took more than a year to write this book, though in truth, the threads that wove through it had been with me much longer. I recall the first time the idea for this story came to me; it was a rainy afternoon, and I was sitting in a café, lost in thought. That moment, that feeling, became the seed from which this novel grew, transforming my thoughts into a compelling narrative.
At its heart, The Space Between Us is a novel about what holds us apart—and what can bring us back together. It is about grief and memory, about love that lingers even when unspoken. It is about the weight of the words we do not say, and the small moments that can build a bridge across even the most profound silence.
I chose to tell this story in lyrical prose because plain statements cannot capture some emotions. Grief and longing live in cadence and pause. Joy flickers in rhythm and image. The spaces on the page reflect the spaces in our lives—the gaps where we ache, where we hope, where we wait.
Writing this novel was a rollercoaster of emotions. There were days when I struggled to find the following sentence, and others when the sentences seemed to see me. There were long stretches of doubt—was I too quiet? Was I holding too much back?—and moments of certainty, where I felt the story breathing just beneath my fingertips. This emotional journey is what makes ‘The Space Between Us’ a deeply personal work.
More than anything, this book taught me the value of patience. The story unfolded at its own pace, asking for care, for attention, for trust.
Now that it is finally in the world, I fervently hope that The Space Between Us will offer readers not just a narrative, but a profound experience—a space to linger, to feel, to reflect. I hope it provides room for both sorrow and light, for memory and possibility, and that it will deeply engage the readers’ emotions.
And I hope it reminds us that sometimes, the spaces between us are not emptiness. They are where love waits.
— Lei Naomi