The Two Lives of Lydia Bird: A Novel
Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Women Fiction
Ballantine Books
March 3, 2020
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, Kindle
384
Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.
Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.
So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life—and perhaps even love—again.
But then something inexplicable happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddie. A life where none of the tragic events of the past few months have happened.
Lydia is pulled again and again through the doorway to her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. But there’s an emotional toll to returning to a world where Freddie, alive, still owns her heart. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird gave me all the feels!
When I read the last sentence of this book, I squealed. I’ll admit it. A weird high-pitched sound just forced itself through my upper body and came out my mouth. If you are a fan of a good emotional story, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver will inevitably cause some similar excitement for you.
Lydia and Freddie live a fairytale love story, but then Freddie dies
Lydia and Freddie have been each other’s person for their whole adult lives. They are high school sweethearts that stood the test of time. More than 10 years after their first summer together, they are planning their wedding and their future. But on Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie dies in a car accident, and Lydia’s world collapses.
In an attempt to manage her distress, Lydia agrees to take prescription medication to help her sleep. But instead of restful sleep, the medication transports her to a world where Freddie didn’t die. In this parallel life, every day continued as it should’ve had it not been for that tragic accident. This life is not perfect, but it has Freddie. Which life will Lydia choose? When Lydia has to put everything on a scale, can she handle the consequences?
Lydia’s journey is messy and beautiful
We get to accompany Lydia on her almost two-year roam through grief and her careful approach to healing. It’s quite an emotional journey. Not just for Lydia, but also for us. Josie Silver’s words are magical, relatable, and breathtaking. I’m left in awe after reading Josie describe so precisely some of life’s most complicated emotions. Grief is like “turning off the sun.” The struggle to move on is a “parched pile of leaves” that as it scatters on the breeze, it also scatters pieces of oneself away. An attempt at romance can be a parachute jump with a soft landing…
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is more than just a story about overcoming grief. It’s a love story, a heartbreak story, a story of redemption, and a story of friendship.
This book will be released on March 3, 2020. Please go pre-order it now!
Darienne was 15 when her aunt gave her a copy of Princess by Jean Sasson, and she has been hooked on books ever since. Originally from Puerto Rico and now living in Maryland, she’s always looking to visit new coffee shops and bookstores. Her favorite genres include YA, spicy romcoms, and women’s fiction. Thanks to the Bees, she’s also now obsessed with romantasy series. Other loves include lavender lattes, sassy coffee mugs, sunrises, sleeping in, small-town charm, and big city lights. One day, she’ll write that book that lives in her head.
