Valerie Nifora’s What We Left Behind Receives ChristLit Book Award on Launch Day
Award-winning author’s emotional second-chance romance explores lost love, regret, forgiveness, and the possibility of
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Award-winning author’s emotional second-chance romance explores lost love, regret, forgiveness, and the possibility of finding hope decades later.
NEW YORK , NY, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Award-winning, Long Island author Valerie Nifora’s newest novel, What We Left Behind, launches today with a notable literary honor: the novel has been recognized with a ChristLit Book Award from the ChristLit Book Awards, an internationally accredited Christian book award program dedicated to celebrating and elevating Christian literature.
The award comes on the same day What We Left Behind officially releases, marking a significant moment for Nifora as she introduces readers to a story that moves beyond traditional ideas of romance to explore the complicated realities of love, loss, regret, forgiveness, and second chances.
What We Left Behind follows Seth Abrams and Margaret Taylor, whose lives were changed forever when Seth walked away from the woman he once promised to love. Decades later, Margaret is a widow with grown children and a life she has carefully rebuilt. Then Seth returns—famous, humbled, and carrying the weight of the years they lost.
Their unexpected reunion forces both of them to confront a question that has no easy answer: What happens when the love you thought was lost forever finds its way back to you?
According to Louise Jane, CEO of The ChristLit Book Awards, the novel captures the emotional complexity of a love story that spans decades. “This unforgettable book completely blew me away, showcasing the same rare and beautiful voice that makes her writing so incredible.”
Jane praised Nifora’s attention to detail and called What We Left Behind “one of the most exquisitely told and deeply moving romances out there,” noting the novel’s exploration of “the agony of a love running out of time.”
The ChristLit recognition is especially meaningful to Nifora, whose previous novel Mary Whitcombe was also named a ChristLit Book of the Year in Fiction.
“I am incredibly honored that What We Left Behind has received recognition from the ChristLit Book Awards,” said Nifora. “This story is about much more than whether two people find their way back to each other. It’s about what we do with regret, whether forgiveness is possible after decades have passed, and how hope can find us even when we think the most important chapters of our lives are already over.”
While Nifora is known primarily for her historical fiction, What We Left Behind marks a departure into contemporary fiction. The novel examines the passage of time and the lives people build after loss, while asking whether the past truly stays in the past.
Nifora’s work is known for its focus on the human spirit, emotional resilience, and the enduring power of hope. Her books have received multiple literary honors, including a ChristLit Book of the Year award, recognition from the Hawthorne Prize and Independent Press Awards.
What We Left Behind is available now worldwide.
About Valerie Nifora
Valerie Nifora is an award-winning novelist and poet whose writing explores the human spirit, hope, love, and the unexpected ways life can change us. She is the author of The Fairmounts, Mary Whitcombe, I Asked the Wind, The Quiet After You, The Shopkeeper’s Daughter, and What We Left Behind.
Known for crafting emotionally layered stories that spark reflection and conversation, Valerie writes characters who wrestle with longing, regret, and the hope of redemption — the kinds of stories that stay with readers long after the final page.
A longtime marketing communications leader, Nifora holds an MBA from Fordham University and a BA in Communication Studies from Emerson College. She lives in New York with her husband and is the mother of two sons.
For more information about Valerie Nifora and her books, visit her website or connect with her on social media.
About The ChristLit Book Awards
The ChristLit Book Awards is an internationally accredited Christian book award program dedicated to recognizing and celebrating outstanding Christian literature across a variety of genres.
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