The Book of Two Ways

I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan. Each of her books teaches me something new while bringing me into a whole new world of experiences through the characters. Therefore, I was thrilled to receive an advanced reader copy of The Book of Two Ways.

As a young girl I used to dream of going to Egypt as an archeologist and all I would discover, so I was excited to see that Picoult’s latest novel would take me into Egypt with an exciting premise.

Synopsis: Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious destination is to fly home, but she could take another path: return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

As always, Picoult did a fabulous job with her research. I appreciate all the hard work she put into keeping the book factually accurate, but I think she may have gotten so into her own research and excitement about all the new information on Egyptology, chemistry, death doulas, etc. that she went a little overboard on the factual details in the book, so at times the story read like a textbook.

I did love learning about the main character’s profession as a death doula. This was the first time I had heard of or encountered this profession, and found it fascinating.

Overall, this book just didn’t seem to have any real flow and by the end of the book I felt like I didn’t have a connection with the characters or feel that they were fully developed. There was still some enjoyment to be found in the reading along with some mystery, suspense and history.

I’m still a fan of Jodi Picoult and I’m looking forward to her next book.