Love, Loss, and Lost Causes
Love, Loss, and Lost Causes
by Sahil Mehta
Released September 30, 2025
Ravi had moved to the U.S. as a teenager to escape the ambient terrors of growing up gay in India. The novel picks up Ravi's story a couple of decades later, when he meets two very different men who will change his life forever. Usman works at a resort in Goa where Ravi and his family are vacationing. Their connection is instantaneous, but the odds are stacked against the pair right from the get-go. Usman is young, closeted, and deeply conflicted about reconciling his sexuality with his religious beliefs and cultural expectations. Ravi lives in Boston, and their lives seem worlds apart, literally and figuratively. Adam is carefree and seemingly perfect, except that he doesn't believe in monogamy or long-term relationships, both of which he considers fossilized relics of an outdated, heteronormative era. Adam and Usman both force Ravi to reckon with his own past as he explores the space between love and loneliness.
Sahil Mehta was born and raised in India. He currently lives in Boston, MA, where he works in the hospitality industry. His work has appeared in Foglifter Journal (nominated for PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers), Tint Journal (special mention in the Pushcart Prize L anthology), South 85 Journal (2023 Julia Peterkin Flash Fiction Award, second runner-up), and other publications. His debut novel Love, Loss, and Lost Causes was published by Rebel Satori Press.
