The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

☆☆☆
ebook, 423 pages
Expected publication: September 22nd 2020 by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books
About the Book:
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?

Jodi Picoult is a hit and miss author for me, usually a hit but this one was a miss. I loved the idea of the story but it got bogged down with too much unnecessary information. History was my most hated subject in school and this book has A LOT of Egyptian history in it. I found those parts so boring and dragging.

The writing is beautiful and lovely and I loved the non-linear timeline, it was the best part. It is just the topic of Egyptology that made this a meh for me. I enjoyed learning about the characters and who of us wouldn't like to find an old love and find out what if? If you're looking for the usual Picoult, you won't find it here BUT you may just learn something new, I know I did.

Thank you NetGalley, the extremely talented Jodi Picoult and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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