Grab a box of tissues and enjoy the journey. With each tentative step Lydia takes toward healing, we learn alongside her that grief and love are both messy, knock-you-down, totally transformative parts of life. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird broke my heart into pieces and then put those pieces back together one spontaneous cat adoption and silent speed dating session at a time. What I love most about this book is that in spite of the extraordinary premise, its charm is in the ordinary moments that make up Lydia’s dual lives. As Lydia deals with the emotional strain of living parallel existences, she’s forced to make decisions not only about how she wants to live, but who she wants to live with. But she's rattled to discover that, every night when she falls asleep, she is inexplicably transported to a world where Freddie is still alive. In her grief, Lydia’s relationship with Freddie’s best friend, Jonah, deepens as she tries to move on.

But a few months into their engagement, on Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie dies in a tragic accident. This novel is as raw as it is charming, and one of the most earnestly heartfelt books I have read.įreddie and Lydia have been together since they were 14, and Lydia can’t imagine her life without him. Luckily, I’m here to tell you that The Two Lives of Lydia Bird possesses not one moment of emotional fakery. If an author is overtly manipulating my emotions, I have no problem rolling my eyes and setting the book aside.

The two lives of lydia bird