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The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser

Engaging and meticulously plotted, Jessica Strawser’s The Next Thing You Know (St. Martin’s Press) is a character study, a call for compassion and empathy, and a hopeful read.

Nova Hudson is an end-of-life doula with Parting Your Way, a two-person end-of-life doula service in Cincinnati, OH, with Kelly Monroe, its owner. Tucked in a residential neighborhood, in Kelly’s own home, the office is unassuming for the enormous work the service entails, which is to care for and ease the soul of the dying. It is here that Mason Trainer, a hailed musician facing his own mortality and value, finds himself in a desperate moment.

We find as we read the story how fitting it is for Parting Your Way to exist in the backdrop of this community since death is part of our every day. When Nova accepts Mason as her client, she opens herself up to him in ways that are emotionally intimate, even as he holds back. It’s par for the course for Nova, who is intuitive though sometimes cavalier in her decisions. But it is her bravado and sometimes her impulsivity that Mason eventually learns to trust, and soon the two find comfort and ease with one another.

When tragedy strikes, the spotlight is trained on Nova, Kelly and Parting Your Way because of their unique practice. The official investigation that follows uncovers secrets, emotions and history among those in Mason’s and Nova’s sphere. Parting Your Way is placed in a pressure cooker to defend itself and the right to exist when so much compassion is needed in the winter of one’s life.

THE PERFECT BOOK CLUB READ

It’s no surprise that reading The Next Thing You Know launched my own personal examination about death, a person’s dignity at the end of their life, their access to resources and need for connection. With our growing aging population, continued conversation is needed about the quality of care that medical providers might not be equipped to give. This book can be the spark to such conversation. Strawser’s ability to weave storylines, multiple points of view, and timelines (then, and now) seamlessly allows the reader to journey through the questions often pushed aside when it comes to this inevitability of death. Questions such as: 

Am I ready?

Who will be with me?

Who will be there for my family?

How can I prepare?

The Next Thing You Know is a hopeful book. The presence of end-of-life doulas doing such deep compassionate work provides the reader with the security that the story will usher them into understanding the characters and plot. Moreover, the way in which the author gives us the opportunity to get to know these characters, their strengths and faults, and the closure they deserve is a testament that the ability to care for others lies within us.

The Next Thing You Know is the perfect book club read, sure to incite conversation about the fear and acceptance of death, our role as a society in this inevitable part of our life cycle, and a human’s inalienable right to their own story. Written with gentle, thought-provoking prose, Strawser will rise to the top of your go-to authors. 


MORE FROM JESSICA STRAWSER

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Tall Poppy Review: A Meet-Cute Turned Deadly

Tall Poppy Review: “Forget You Know Me” New Suspense

Tall Poppy Review: Perfect Drama For Moriarty Fans

DIY MFA Radio Episode 140: Writing Multiple POV Suspense — Interview with Jessica Strawser


The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser
Genre: Fiction
Author: Jessica Strawser
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 9781250620490
Tif Marcelo

Tif Marcelo is a veteran US Army nurse and holds a BS in Nursing and a Master’s in public administration. She believes and writes about the strength of families, the endurance of friendship, heartfelt romances, and is inspired daily by her own military hero husband and four children. She hosts the Stories to Love podcast, and is the USA Today bestselling author of In a Book Club Far Away, Once Upon a Sunset, The Key to Happily Ever After, which was a Target Diverse Book Club pick, The Holiday Switch, and the Heart Resort and Journey to the Heart series. She and her books have been featured in The Today Show, Shondaland, Real Simple Magazine, The Asian Journal and more! Her website, which includes a link to her newsletter, is www.TifMarcelo.com.

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