The novel predominantly deals with the emotional, spiritual, and metaphysical dimensions of true love and the power such love can wield over the lives of the people in love. The Best of Me contains two romance threads. The romance between Amanda and Dawson is the primary plot focus, while the story of Tuck and Clara acts as the perfect romantic tale and a blueprint for the younger couple.

In the novel, the enormous consequences of not choosing true love are reflected in the lives of Dawson and Amanda. Ever since he broke up with Amanda at the age of 18, over two decades earlier, Dawson has been living a half-life, unable to find fulfillment. He lives in the memory of his romance with Amanda and still carries the memories of the night he made love to her for the first and only time. His current life is colorless without any social interactions or interests. As he says later in the novel, Amanda was his “best friend” and “best self” (199) to whom he gave the best of himself, an idea reflected in the novel’s title. Hence, in the present, he is a shadow of his former self, cut off from the force that gave him love and life.