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The Two Lives of Lydia Bird Josie Silver
369 pages | Published by Ballantine Books
Lydia's fiance Freddie, who she's been with since they were teens, dies tragically in a car accident. COmpletely wrecked with grief, Lydia isn't sure what this means for her future or the future of her relationship with their long time friend Jonah. Struggling with sleep, Lydia is given some sleeping pills - which result in incredibly realistic dreams in which Freddie is still alive. Lydia finds herself trying to live in two worlds at once - her waking world without Freddie, and her sleeping world with him - where she's the only thing that is changing.
This book is equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful. I think Josie Silver did a wonderful job writing about grief and loss, and I loved that she explored the grief of everyone - obviously, the main focus was Lydia and her struggles, but we also know how their friends and family were coping as well.
I liked the split of the "worlds" in each chapter - some in the real world, and others in Lydia's sleeping world. I found myself enjoying the real world chapters more, but its probably because Lydia's alternate reality was just super sad.
I went into this thinking the book would be much more of a romance. There is a bit of it, enough to swoon at by the end, but all in all, this is much more a story of grief and survival than romance.
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