ECHOES OF THE PAST

Echoes of the Past is my fourth book and my first novel. It is patterned after the type of literary fiction often written by Saul Bellow, the Nobel Prize winning author and my favorite novelist. It is available on Amazon as an ebook, paperback, and a hardback. To find out more, just follow the link below.

Time doesn’t always heal—sometimes, it simply waits.

Gabriel Ellison, a respected philosophy professor in Chicago, lives a life shaped by reason, solitude, and memory. But when Isabelle, a woman from his past, unexpectedly returns after years apart, old feelings surge to the surface. It pulls him into a quiet storm of longing and regret. What begins as a chance encounter rekindles a connection neither expected. It forces them to confront what was left unsaid and undone.

Gabriel finds himself torn between the familiarity of his relationship with Miriam and the undeniable pull of Isabelle. He must also face truths about his family, his past, and the man he has become. Set against the moody backdrop of Chicago, also where city lights flicker like memories and quiet bars hold long-held secrets—Echoes of the Past is a story of connection, disconnection, and the winding roads. Hence, it is that which bring us back to the people we never truly forget.

Lyrical, introspective, and emotionally resonant, this debut novel by Samuel Youmans explores the enduring ache of past love, the weight of choice, and the imperfect beauty of the lives we build, and rebuild.