The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Hoover, Colleen. It Starts With Us. Atria Books, October 18, 2022.

In the romance novel It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover, the sequel to the novel It Ends With Us, Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan have a second chance at love; but, can they overcome the trouble Lily’s jealous and angry ex-husband makes for them? Compounding matters, Atlas has learned he has a twelve-year-old brother, Josh, whom his mother never told him about. When Atlas learns Josh is being abused just like Atlas was, Atlas is determined to give his brother a better life than he had. As both Atlas and Lily fight to end the cycle of abuse, they prioritize the children in their lives and work to create a family based on love and acceptance.

Atlas and Lily both serve as first-person narrators who alternate in telling their stories. Lily is divorced from Ryle Kincaid, but she is still dealing with abuse in the form of threats and angry discourse. Lily has custody of their infant daughter, Emerson “Emmy” Kincaid, and Ryle has unsupervised visitation privileges. Since Ryle has proven to Lily that he has not tamed his anger problem, Lily worries that Ryle will do something to hurt Emmy. Lily and her support group set up a meeting with Ryle during which Lily informs Ryle that she will not allow him to abuse her any longer. She demands that he take anger management courses and that his visits with Emmy are supervised until those classes are completed.

Atlas’s sections of the novel focus on his fight for custody of his younger brother. Atlas wants to raise Josh in an abuse-free environment, but his mother fights him just to be difficult. Josh tells them both that he wants to live with his dad, Tim. Atlas knows that Tim is not a good choice as a guardian, but he also knows that Tim must be the one to come to that realization. Atlas takes Josh to Tim’s house, but Josh never even speaks to his father. Josh decides that his dad does not deserve to have him as a son since his father never tried to find him or support him in any way.

In the meantime, Atlas and Lily reconnect with each other. Lily is divorced. They agree that they are ready to start a relationship with each other. The two catch up on what has happened in their lives since they were teenagers. After they have been dating for six months, Lily and Emmy move in with Atlas. Atlas is reading his vows to Lily one last time before the wedding at the conclusion of the novel.