Behind the Books #1 | The Story Behind The Life You Gave Me

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Eight years have passed. Eight! Since I independently published The Life You Gave Me in Spanish. This book will always be the greatest surprise of my life because it began as a writing challenge I set for myself—one I never intended to publish.

It was April 2018, almost May. I had just graduated from high school and, because I couldn't make up my mind, I failed to secure a place to study either Medicine or Literature at university. Without a job and with no clear idea of what to do next, I spent most of my days at home with Lucas, my family's dog.

Lucas was much more than a pet. He was a family treasure. He had belonged to my grandmother, Julia, and after she passed away, he came to live with us.

To talk about Lucas is to talk about the kindest dog I have ever known. He was gentle, had an unmistakable face, and greeted the people he loved with a joy unlike anything I've ever seen. During those years, he was my best friend. Whenever he saw me crying, he would run over and lick my face, as if trying to convince me that everything would be okay. We played together, spent countless hours side by side, and shared a kind of happiness that, even today, I struggle to put into words.

But not everyone loved him the way we did.

A member of our extended family, with whom we shared the same property, seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him. He would provoke Lucas with gestures and mocking expressions. When we realized what was happening, my family stepped in. Although things eventually calmed down, Lucas never trusted that person again. Every time he saw him, he barked and growled.

One night, a heated family argument broke out in that house, drawing everyone into the yard. As one of the people involved tried to get away, Lucas was the first to run toward them, as if he wanted to protect them.

As brave as he was, he was still just a dog facing a man.

The man picked up a heavy steel rod and hurled it at Lucas.

It missed him by only a few inches.

I still remember the rage I felt. I was ready to confront anyone who had tried to hurt him. But we all had to hold ourselves back. That man was known for causing trouble, and he was looking for any excuse to paint us as the aggressors and force us out of our own home.

As the days passed, the situation settled down, and legal action was already underway. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about one question:

What if that steel rod had hit him?

Anger.

Fear.

Frustration.

The scene replayed over and over in my mind.

One afternoon, I was sitting on the couch, staring out at the yard that separated our homes. Lucas climbed onto the sofa beside me, rested his head on my arm, and stayed there without moving.

I don't know what he was trying to tell me.

So I winked at him.

And, as if that had become our own little language, he winked back.

To this day, I still can't explain what I felt in that moment.

That was the moment The Life You Gave Me was born.

I wasn't trying to write a great novel. I had no such ambition. I simply wanted to tell a simple story that reflected the immense love I felt for dogs—and especially for Lucas.

So I gave myself a challenge: write 2,500 words a day for ten consecutive days. If I succeeded, I would have a short novel in less than two weeks.

Every single day, Lucas sat beside me while I wrote.

Without ever knowing it, he became the heart of that book.

When I finished the manuscript, I decided to publish it on Wattpad. There, it quickly gathered thousands of reads and dozens of heartfelt comments from readers who connected with the story.

A few weeks later, I started working at a local bookstore. It was my coworkers who encouraged me to publish the novel during the Guayaquil International Book Fair.

I printed a small batch of copies.

They all sold that very week.

Without planning it, the little novel I had written as a personal challenge—born entirely out of my love for my dog—had begun to find its place in the literary world.

I had no idea then that it was only the beginning.

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Eight years later, thousands of readers from around the world have reaffirmed that writing about Lucas was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I couldn't be more grateful that I had the love to write this story and the perseverance to place it into the hands of the readers who have made it their own.

Lucas crossed the rainbow bridge in 2023, but the legacy of love he left behind is eternal. You can get the book with this link.