In this commemorative edition, PEOPLE looks back at a year marked by exceptional resilience and joyful reunions. After such a long time apart, people came back together in movie theaters, at schools, on red carpets, at live shows—hello, Springsteen on Broadway!—and for family gatherings and celebrations. (Congrats to newlyweds Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, and to new mom Bindi Irwin!) Hugs were back, and so were air kisses on fashion’s gala night at the Met. The cast of Friends met up again, and after 17 years, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindled their love. Also here are the year’s top stories: President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, a high-profile trial offered a long-overdue measure of justice in Minneapolis, and a rift in the British royal family was revealed. Plus: We remember great lives lost in 2021. An essential collector’s keepsake of an extraordinary year.