The "Book of Two Ways" is the first known Egyptian map of the afterlife. This book was named after that ancient text found in Egyptian coffins of certain nobles. The book (map) depicts both a water route and a land route separated by a lake of fire, both potentially ending in the same place. However, there are obstacles to be overcome with both paths in order to reach that desired endpoint. This story depicts the life of Dawn Edelstein along that map; one route by water and the other by land, and the obstacles she faces along the way.
Dawn is a death doula. She is married to Brian, a man who grounds her and makes her feel safe. Together they have raised a daughter, Merit, who now as a teenager struggles with her self-image. Years earlier, Dawn attended Yale as a grad student and began her thesis on The Book of Two Ways. However, she never completed it. That work was not the only thing she left behind in Egypt, she also left her first love, Wyatt. Through a series of events, she now has the opportunity to explore the land of “what if” and unfinished business. Or, she can remain in the life she has created since she left Egypt. A life that includes a husband and a teenage daughter.
THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS by Jodi Picoult is about love, life, death, and loss. Some of the things I love about Jodi Picoult's writing is that I learn new things and also think and feel. It doesn’t get much better than that! I learned a lot about quantum physics, the end of life, and Egyptology. I especially enjoyed reading about how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the afterlife. Some of the scenes in the story are very moving and I found myself shedding tears more than once.
This book is not for the young reader as there are plentiful adult situations and sex scenes as well as profanity. I recommend THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS to adult readers who enjoy Egyptology and emotional stories. I will leave you with two of my favorite quotes from the book:
Life asked Death, "Why do people love me but hate you?" Death responded, "Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth."
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light comes a riveting novel about the choices that alter the course of our lives.
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?
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