From the Publisher: “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 her twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.
So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is 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”.
My thoughts: One Day in December is one of my favourite debut reads, and I couldn’t wait to read Josie Silver’s latest book The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. The book did not disappoint.
This is a love story – but not one most of us strive for. Lydia and Freddie have known each other most of their lives. They are engaged to be married, very much in love and have their whole lives ahead of them. Tragically, Freddie dies in a car accident on Lydia’s twenty eighth birthday.
The story is about Lydia trying to find a life without Freddie. Unable to sleep, her physician prescribes a pill to help her sleep. When she takes the pill, she enters a parallel universe where Freddie is very much alive. She looks forward to entering this universe and continuing her life with Freddie as often as possible. Unfortunately, not everything is perfect in this parallel universe. Difficult decisions must be made as Lydia continues her journey towards a life that has meaning without Freddie.
I loved this book. The characters are well developed and the story is meaningful. It is an emotional read at times, but is full of hope under the most difficult of times. The book held my interest throughout. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Olivia Vinall, who did a fantastic job of giving a voice to Lydia. I highly recommend this book to all fiction lovers. I cannot wait until Josie Silver’s next book.