Maria H

Jody Picoult has crafted a masterpiece with this book, the best yet in my mind. Dawn Edelstein, a very believable, but not always likable, character is abruptly and brutally ctapulted into making a life-choice. By miraculously surviving a plane crash, and still under shock, she is confronted with the choice of remaining who she HAS become, or search for her lost self, the one she once WANTED to become. When all has been remembered and lived, the final choice is almost impossible. I feel that, in the end, it is even immaterial which path Dawn chooses. The importance lies in her making the choice consciously, as distinct from merely drifting on. Although I finished this book several weeks ago, it keeps on occupying my mind and emotions. Initially, I was hugely attracted to all the information bolstering the basic storyline: Egyptology, quantum physics, the topic of death and dying - both in terms of historical and current beliefs as well as practical pre- and after-death arrangements, as well as the profession of death doula, unknown to me before. In a way, my emotional preoccupation was not so very surprising, given that I had recently been able to fulfill my lifelong dream of a journey to Egypt, which still percolates within me. Also, quantum physics, raising the question who you might be in different universes having made different choices, worked on me in various ways: how have my choices made ME, what and how could I be if... Dawn's profession as a death doula reinforced my confrontation with death, and goes hand in hand with the information available about end-of-life choices, assisted dying, last wills, the legacy I leave behind. No wonder the book is churning still, and will for some time. If you are expecting a light read, I recommend you select a different book. Should you, however, look for a thought provoking, somewhat ambitious, definitely educational, and absolutely absorbing story, this is it!