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Emotional Depth
Ain’t No Way This Is Real is a poignant exploration of friendship, heartbreak, and self-reclamation—when a lifelong bond shatters over love and shifting priorities. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
So, the inspiration behind this short story is my own friendship in high school. I met this kid in my freshman year, who ended up becoming my best friend for 5 years. We got so close, we saw each other as brothers. But, we sadly ended it shortly after graduation.
The book has a poetic and lyrical style. Was that intentional from the start, or did it evolve as you wrote?
I wrote it this way as I wanted to put a bit more emotional depth into the story, and poetry and lyrics have that ability. The narrator’s emotions feel incredibly raw and real.
Was there a particular scene or moment that was the hardest for you to write?
Throughout the entire writing process, I had to take breaks, break down, and had to call my support people. But, if there were particular moments I felt the hardest to write about were related to our past memories and connection to my mental health.
What do you hope readers take away from the narrator’s journey of loss and healing?
I wrote Ain’t No Way This Is Real as a way to heal, but I later realized my story could help others heal. Help other young adults and teens like me who are going through or went through a similar situation like mine, but never found anyone to relate to. As in the media, romantic relationships and breakups are pushed to be seen as the most important relationships and the most painful relationships to end,compared to friendships.
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Ain’t No Way This Is Real is based on the author’s friendship with his best friend from high school. We see through the lens of his personal experiences the difficult journey of healing when close friendships come to an end.
Ain’t No Way This Is Real: Began as Brothers, Ended as Strangers
Maximiliano Moreno Sastre’s Ain’t No Way This Is Real is a raw and emotional journey through friendship, heartbreak, and self-discovery. The book is filled with nostalgia, regret, and a deep sense of loss. Written to a once-best-friend-turned-stranger. It follows the narrator’s close bond with someone he considered a brother, only to watch it crumble when love and life get in the way. The story unfolds in a poetic and almost lyrical style that pulls you into the deep emotions of longing, pain, and healing.
What I like most about this novel was the honesty in the writing. The friendship starts beautifully. The excitement of meeting someone who just gets you. The shared experiences. The little promises of lifelong brotherhood. Then, little cracks start to form, and before you know it, everything falls apart. The turning point is a girl who enters the picture. Suddenly priorities shift. There’s a powerful moment when the narrator realizes, “You threw out our friendship of five years for a relationship of a few months.” It’s not just about losing a friend, I think it’s about being replaced and feeling disposable.
The most painful part of the book is how the narrator internalizes the loss. The guilt, the self-blame, the slow unraveling of his identity. It’s heartbreaking to watch. The writing becomes darker and heavier. “I can feel the tip of the blade on my skin,” he admits at one point. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s real. Anyone who has ever felt abandoned, whether by a friend, a lover, or life itself, will find something painfully familiar in these words. And yet, through all the sadness, there’s hope. The narrator finds a way back. He reclaims himself, his laughter, his purpose.
By the end, I felt like I had just sat with a friend who poured his heart out. There’s no perfect resolution because life isn’t always neat like that. But there’s closure. There’s growth. There’s the bittersweet realization that some people leave, and that’s okay.
Ain’t No Way This Is Real is perfect for anyone who has ever had a friendship that meant everything, only to watch it slip away. It’s for the people who have been broken but found the strength to rebuild. While I wished for a bit more structure in some places, the emotional impact was undeniable.
Pages: 80 | ISBN: 1779624298
LITERARY TITAN 