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The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

A Novel

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The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

Written by: Josie Silver
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
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About this listen

Two lives. Two loves. One impossible choice. From the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick One Day in December...

“I read The Two Lives of Lydia Bird in a single sitting. What a beautiful, emotional gift Josie Silver has given us.” (Jodi Picoult)

Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.

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 Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.

So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to 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.

Lydia is pulled again and again through the doorway to her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. But there’s an emotional toll to returning to a world where Freddie, alive, still owns her heart. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay.

©2019 Josie Silver (P)2019 Random House Audio
Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Romantic Comedy Comedy Heartfelt

What the critics say

"At its core, this is a story of love lost and individual growth. But it is also about love found and future happiness. While this is in many ways the complete opposite of Linda Holmes' Evvie Drake Starts Over, fans of that book will enjoy it." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Through lush prose, expert plotting, and richly imagined characters, Silver offers an achingly real portrait of grief transposed with the character’s intoxicating parallel universe. This will stay with readers long after the final page is turned.” (Publishers Weekly)

"I read The Two Lives of Lydia Bird in a single sitting - crying, laughing, and rooting for the heroine, who reminds us that the people we love,and the people we lose,change us, and that who we are at the beginning of our story is never who we are at the end of it. What a beautiful, emotional gift Josie Silver has given us." (Jodi Picoult, New York Times best-selling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light)

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This was a lovely story about a loss that anyone who's been in love or is in love can relate to. The extra storylines added to the feel of Lydia's life as she makes her way through. I truly loved the ending!

A great listen.

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Josie Silver is a beautiful writer. Both of her novels span over the course of a realistic time period that makes the story feel I rushed and natural. The way she creates imagery using her words and really makes the reader feel what the characters are going through.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is relatable when we think of the loss of a loved one and how one may cope. I also enjoyed the way Lydia came to her realizations throughout the book because no matter how we try to escape our reality sometimes our alternate reality or our dreams have a way of pointing us where we need to go. Olivia Vinall as the narrator brought the book to life and through even the most painful or sad moments created beauty with her voice and the words written by Josie.

Beautiful story that naturally unfolds

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A beautiful story of love, loss, grief, and life. It not only exemplifies romantic love & loss, but other relationships where love lives, such as family and friends. Definitely worth the listen.

Beautiful story

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After so many non-fictions in a row, this book was a nice interlude. Just like Josie's first book, it's hard to stop listening! I really liked both the narration and the writing.

Couldn't stop listening

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In hindsight, I wished I’d read this within a week instead I let many months come in between, mainly due to the difficulties of our time right now. I may listen to it again, beautiful characters, heart wrenching in the beginning, and tears of joy in the last chapter.

Josie Silver is beyond a doubt one of my favorite authors now.

Absolutely adored the narrator Olivia Vinall!

Charming Read!

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Love the story! love the narration! Laughed and cried and just loved the ending! Ofcourse there is a love story but there is also a very relatable take on sisters and mother daughter relationships. Narrated really well too.

Loved it!

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This book was a bit strange, as she is straddling two worlds, but there is no supernatural component. It deals with grief, love and growth. I liked the narrator a lot, she really brought some of the characters to life.

Enjoyed This Book

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second book better that her first awesome book! this book is so wonderful and makes a person think about loss...living in the moment...family.... love. what a pleasure reading this story!♡

this author knows how to write!

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I loved this. I got more invested as the story went on. looked forward to the next time I could read everytime.

love

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I enjoyed this book at the start but by the end I felt it just went on a bit. My mind kept wandering and I just wanted to finish it. The story 'could have' been great but just lacked a bit of emotion and imagination for me.

Predictable. Could have been great.

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