It Starts With Us PDF Download by Colleen Hoover

In the book “It Starts With Us,” Lily Bloom, the main character, tells her life story, from growing up in a challenging environment to leaving an abusive relationship with Ryle Kincaid. Her childhood in a home where she was abused as a child is also covered in the book.

It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, All Your Perfects, Ugly Love, and Verity are just a few of Colleen Hoover’s 23 books. The bestsellers in The New York Times. She wrote a book everyone is eager to read. To help others, Colleen and her family established The Bookworm Box in 2015. It serves as both a bookshop and a monthly book delivery service. Together with her husband and three boys, Colleen resides in Texas.

BookIt Starts With Us
Author Colleen Hoover
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Language English 

Summary of It Starts With Us

In the first chapter of the book, Lily, the protagonist and a recent college graduate living in Boston, sits by herself on a roof and muses about her father’s passing. She goes there to visit local physician Ryle Kincaid. The two couples have different expectations for their relationships, even though they seem to appreciate one another. Lily wants a committed relationship, while Ryle is seeking a one-night stand. After Ryle and Lily break up, they re-cross paths six months later when Lily hires Ryle’s sister Allysa to work at the flower shop she started. Lily and Ryle’s desire to together grow as they spend more time together.

 Ryle decides to try and fall in love with Lily after being uninterested in her at first. This time of year, Lily has a lot of free time, so it’s only natural for her to think back on her past and hope that the passing of her abusive father would offer her peace. She does this by looking back at the journals she kept when she was 15. In her notes, she writes of her time spent with Atlas Corrigan, an 18-year-old homeless man. He took Lily in when she was left in his care and assisted her in overcoming the trauma of seeing her father beat her mother when she was a teenager. Lily is now considering if she also wants a resolution with Atlas.

The chemistry between Lily and Ryle seems perfect. As they spend more time together and become more involved in one other’s lives, their feelings for one another intensify. Now that they have met, Lily and Allysa cannot remain apart. Even Lily’s mother has communicated with Ryle. One evening, Atlas rudely interrupts Lily while she eats with Ryle and her mother. She is glad to hear that he seems to be doing well, but she also feels betrayed since it has been nine years since they last spoke. She reassures herself that everything is OK now that she is with Ryle, and their relationship is destined to be. 

Lily and Ryle had intended to spend the evening together, but Ryle hurt Lily by making a careless error. After the incident, Ryle apologizes, and Lily accepts his comforting words since she is still shaken up and hurt. Ryle swears under penalty of perjury that he doesn’t resemble Lily’s father. Lily warns Ryle that they will have to live apart if he doesn’t change, and Lily is also reminded that Ryle isn’t her birth father. They talk about their affection for one another often and out loud.

The next day, Lily meets her friends Ryle, Allysa, and Marshall for lunch at the same restaurant where she first met Atlas. After seeing their bandaged hands, Atlas is correct to assume that Ryle harmed Lily and was the source of her wounds. When Atlas approaches Lily in the toilet, she immediately rises to defend Ryle. Atlas draws parallels between Lily and Lily’s angry mother, whose actions he saw when they were both relatively younger. He acts out of anger. After hearing what they are saying, Atlas hits Ryle. Due to this, Ryle is expelled from the restaurant. Ryle has asked for proof that Lily is not sleeping with Atlas. Ryle is the only person Lily cares about; she tells him straight out.

To make up for his remarks about Lily and Lily’s mother at the restaurant, Atlas goes to Lily’s workplace. He has left her with a gift he has already bought and his contact information, which she may use in any unforeseen emergencies. Lily experiences a great deal of tenderness as she thinks back to how Atlas looked for her and was there for her years ago. For an extended period, Atlas and Lily resided in an empty house. He was given food and clothing, allowed to use her bathroom, and sleep on the frigid floor of her bedroom. When Atlas’ parents died, he was forced to leave his home. He had planned to finish high school before enlisting.

 Lily continues to help and spend time with him, and they become more comfortable with one another. Lily is glad that Atlas has found a new home despite her grief. After some time, Atlas manages to track down one of his uncles and go to Boston with him. On Lily’s 16th birthday, Atlas revisits her and assures her that he will one day locate her. But later that evening, as Atlas and Lily had a sexual encounter, Atlas’s father entered the room and attacked Atlas, sending him to the hospital. Since then, Atlas hadn’t been in touch with Lily, and she was still unhappy with his promise to look for her. She now realizes that Ryle will be her husband, nevertheless.

This seems to be the case as Lily and Ryle ponder getting married while spending time with Ryle’s family. One late night, Ryle looks through Lily’s phone and finds Atlas’ contact information. Ryle travels because he has given up hope and is jealous. Lily follows Ryle to see what’s going on, and he shoves her down the stairs. At first, Ryle refused to take responsibility for his actions and demanded simply that Lily show him that she wasn’t having an extramarital affair. After explaining how Atlas found her firm to Ryle, Lily shoos her out of her flat. Ryle asks for forgiveness again, but he has his sister’s help this time.

 Ryle shares with Lily how he accidentally shot and killed his older brother when he was only six years old. Since that day, Ryle says it has been hard for him to contain his fury. Lily struggles between her feelings for Ryle and her concern that she would develop an unhealthy attachment with him, much as she did with her parents when she was younger. Ryle is aware that Lily wants to help him in any way she can, but she must be aware of his requirements at any time.

Ryle seemed to be doing well after his tragedy. He confronts Lily about her relationship with Atlas one evening. He threatens Lily when they finally meet, comes perilously close to raping her, and hurts her when she tries to protect herself. After telling Atlas she was pregnant over the phone, Lily headed to the hospital.

To escape her problems, Lily goes to Atlas’s house, where she stays for a long time. Later, Ryle informs her when he returns to her place of business that, he will spend the next three months working in England. Lily sees Atlas again since she isn’t in the mood to return to her flat. When his first tour finished, Atlas confessed to Lily that he sought her, but she was content, and he didn’t think his life was satisfactory enough for her. Lily is shocked by this. Inviting her to her house, he expresses his admiration for her. He acknowledges that she is now coping with her problems and hopes they will be together.

As time passes, Lily’s internal conflict over whether or not to tell Allysa and her mother about the pregnancy becomes more intense. She needs their help because she feels helpless and alone but worries they’ll talk her into giving up Ryle. On the other side, Allysa thinks Lily and Ryle did something wrong and presses Lily on the subject. Lily, who has much improved, explains what transpired and how she became pregnant. Ryle’s sister, Allysa, has been told not to see her brother. Eventually, after much internal conflict, Lily confronts her mother. Her mother talks about how she was abused as a child and how, through time, she developed coping mechanisms. Even worse, Lily’s mother wants her to break off her engagement with Ryle.

Ryle’s return has led to the revelation of Lily’s pregnancy. Even though he asks Lily to pardon him, she stays away from him. Ultimately, she chooses to grant him parental rights and allow him to help her throughout the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Lily is still confused about what she wants from their relationship before the baby is delivered while accepting his help. After her daughter’s birth, Lily realizes that she does not want her child to grow up in a dangerous atmosphere. She considers several options before deciding that divorcing Ryle is the best way to stop domestic violence. She runs into Atlas eleven months later and tells him she wants to be with him.

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