The Book of Two Ways Audiobook By Jodi Picoult cover art

The Book of Two Ways

A Novel

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The Book of Two Ways

By: Jodi Picoult
Narrated by: Patti Murin
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About this listen

Number one New York Times best seller

From the author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light comes a “powerful” (The Washington Post) 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 15 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?

©2020 Jodi Picoult (P)2020 Random House Audio
Fiction Genre Fiction Sagas Women's Fiction Transportation Aviation Feel-Good
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Critic reviews

“A thrilling adventure ... With Picoult’s stories, there is always something new to learn, and The Book of Two Ways is no exception.... A fun and interesting read, one that will lead readers to both learn a lot and also ask themselves key questions about how to create happy lives for themselves during the short time we have on earth.” (Associated Press)

“Picoult’s fans will appreciate this multifaceted, high-concept work.” (Publishers Weekly)

"Picoult’s fans will be more than ready for this puzzle of a novel.... [They] will find heady themes to consider.” (Booklist)

Beautiful Complicated Characters • Fascinating Egyptian Setting • Multi-layered Love Story • Thought-provoking Themes
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I selected this book rather tentatively because of other somewhat negative reviews. Wow! I am so glad I discounted those reviews and went for it.

Admittedly, it probably helps that I find Egypt intriguing because this book contains A LOT of obvious research material. However, there is the profound essence of a beautiful story that unfolds around all the factual elements that makes this book an absolute joy.

Others found the narrator unlistenable; however, the narrator seemed perfect to me.
1. She was age-appropriate to the main character.
2. She pronounced with ease the difficult Arabic words, which would have frustrated me had I been reading in print.
3. The tone was appropriate to the subject and the dilemma revealed in the plot. (It is, after all, a book about death. I would have been disappointed had the narrator been cheerful and upbeat.)
4. The very sound of the narrator's voice was pleasant and soothing. I could imagine her leading guided meditations in real life.

Bottom line: don't be dissuaded by the opinion of other listeners. This is another beautifully told work from one of the best story-tellers today.

Oh! The personal note from the author at the end was a real bonus. Enjoy!

Mesmerized w/ Egypt

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I loved this book. The beautiful Egyptian poetry is so essentially human that we can relate to it thousands of years later. Dawn is a budding Egyptologist finishing her graduate work. She competes with academically and falls in love with another graduate student from England named Wyatt. They are at a dig in Egypt when Dawn received word that her mom is going into hospice care. Dawn did not even know her mother was ill and rushes home to care for her mom and her younger brother. She meets Brian who's grandmother is in the same hospice unit. When her mother died she has no money to continue studying and take care of her little brother. Brian is there to help her out and they have a baby, marry and 15 years go by.

I learned about Quantum physics and Egyptian history. This is all a framework for a fantastic love story. I am not a romance genre reader but this book encompasses such an intricate network of ideas and emotions and acts of total reason and other acts of emotional abandon that I couldn't stop reading to see what happens.

two ways

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I think that's the only moral you can take away from this story. it's irritating to watch a character completely trample so many people's feelings and needs, with everyone being basically okay with it. I'm not just talking about the fact that she cheats on.... everyone.... it's how casually she brings her lover back to meet her husband, how completely she forgets about her dying client whose last wishes she rewrote in *the most hypocritical way possible* only telling the client when they are too close to death to be able to respond. like -- what? and then everything turns out just hunky dory for this totally selfish POS? just... yuck. I wouldn't even have finished this if it weren't for a book club, and only then because I could listen on 2x speed through most of this drivel.

"Selfishness Wins"

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I LOVED this story! The way the author interweaves the main character’s experiences as a death doula with the ancient Egyptian beliefs around death and the afterlife, was amazing! And the parallel story of her weighing her life choices between the three loves of her life is then interwoven into that. This was a very emotional and spiritual story. The narrator’s voice and performance was perfect for this story. One of the best I’ve listened to! Get out the tissues!

A profound & emotional story of life, love, & death

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Disappointing, slow, didn’t even care if I finished it or not, and I don’t do that. She is one of my top authors but this was not her best by far

Far from her best...

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I usually love Jodi Picoult books but found this one unbearable much of the time because of the unnecessary hyper focus on too much detail. Wanted a novel not a college lecture. Felt like author was showing off her research skills.

Didn’t need a college course though

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There is always a text book in every Jodi Picolt book! This book will not disappoint!

LOVE, cried, More Love, sad, love

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I really enjoyed all the research that the book required, it was super interesting! I also enjoyed the story, very plausible to have a trigger that makes you look back and question your choices. the only thing I did not like was the mismatch on how the two stories overlap. one of them seems to imply that she was in 2 airplane accidents and that is jymust improbable multiverse or not. but I give the author so much credit for trying different ways to tell a story across her books..i have read all of them, and there is always something to learn and of late, exploring ways to tell a story in a nonlinear way.

love the context

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Love Jodie Picoult but I struggled to finish this one. I usually find the moral dilemmas presented in her stories thought provoking and gripping but I was disappointed with this one and struggled to pay attention. I like the premise of the book but it didn't pan out for me. It just didn't have the grip of Storyteller or Small Great Thimgs or Spark of Light. At one point I almost quit listening. I am glad I finished but if this had been my first book by this author it might be my last. Narrator however was great!

Not her best work

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Great narration, but the story was not the greatest. This is my least favorite book by Ms. Picoult, and I do love her books.

My least favorite of Ms. Picoult

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