A Light Left Behind blends contemporary upmarket fiction with a touch of historical truth, drawing inspiration from the real-life legend of Olive Thomas’s ghost at New York's New Amsterdam Theatre.

Josslyn Kendrick is an actress who has landed her first big role in the next big hit on Broadway. 

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Overnight, she’s swept into the glittering world she’s always dreamed of—her name in lights, a glamorous cast, and a producer who believes in her a little too much. Josslyn can’t shake the fear that she earned the role not on talent, but due to her romantic liaison with that producer, Zachary Taylor. Ending things might cost her stardom, yet staying makes her doubt the truth of her success.

During grueling rehearsals, Josslyn encounters the lively ghost of Olive Thomas, who seems to be trying to communicate something. Their shared similarities—small-town roots, fast fame, and romantic entanglements with powerful, married men—leave Josslyn unsettled. The parallels are uncanny, and Josslyn worries she may be repeating a story she never meant to step into.

 

When she meets Noah, a down to earth film student who sees her as more than her rising stardom, Josslyn’s carefully constructed world begins to tilt. As opening night looms, she finds herself questioning the dazzling life she thought she wanted and a quieter path that feels startlingly true. With Olive’s nudges, Josslyn begins to wonder if letting go is the best way to hold on. 

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