The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

A Novel

By: Josie Silver

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall

Two lives. Two loves. One impossible choice. From the #1 New York Times bestselling 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 twenty-eighth 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.

Critic reviews

“A dreamy love story . . . a moving story of grief and finding one’s way back.”—People

“Impossibly romantic.”—Cosmopolitan

“A novel that will make you laugh, cry, and think about the precious gift of being in love.”—Today online

“Bursting with wit and charm . . . heart-wrenching yet hope-filled.”—Woman’s World

“Another irresistible love story.”—The Skimm

“Captivating.”—HelloGiggles

“Silver strikes gold for a second time with this tale . . . [and] delivers an ending that’s as rewarding as it is revelatory.”—Electric Literature

“As much a meditation on healing after loss as it is a gently developed love story.”—Booklist (starred review)

“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

“The Two Lives of Lydia Bird offers wit in abundance, deeply satisfying characterization, and a mega-dose of heart. What a journey these characters take, and what magic this author uses to bring each of them alive. Josie Silver is fresh, insightful, and daring. Her voice is one of rising strength in women’s fiction today.”—Barbara Delinsky, New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Salt Air

Heartbreakingly beautiful

This book broke my heart and made it feel whole at the same time. The pain of grief and how Lydia works through it made me feel so close to her character. It skipped all the cliches of many love stories and felt so real. Somehow made the mention of alternate reality sound believable? I loved this book.

Warming and cathartic

This was a good read. I previously read and loved One Day in December, and knew I was bound to love this one too. This was a difficult story to read as it was such a beautiful and painful story. My throat was tight and my eyes pricked with tears for the majority of the first two-thirds of the story. Honestly I had to put it down a few times because pain within my own life made the pain in the story so much stronger. But it’s quite cathartic going through Lydia’s suffering and rediscovery, her recovery and her healing on her path forward. I don’t even think we needed the last few chapters for good closure, but they were an added happy bonus. It’s a beautiful reminder that when we choose to move forward and to keep pushing through, we will emerge stronger on the other side. Highly recommend this book to all, although I know I’m going to be reading a HEA romance story next to offset all the crying from this great book.

Beautiful narration or an amazing story

I originally picked this book up expecting a sappy love story but it unfolded into so much more. Watching Lydia go through so many different stages of grief was heart wrenching, raw, and beautiful. I felt like I was sitting the her living room with her, experiencing a side of her life only she knew. Watching her slowly find pieces of herself she never knew were there was so inspiring and tender.

The narrator, she was absolutely amazing and one of my favorites I’ve ever listened to!

Did not disappoint

I loved Josie Silver’s first novel and I loved this one also. This book will stay in my library so I can come back to it through the years

Love Her Books So Very Muchhhh!!!

Adored this idea of traveling between 2 separate worlds/lives to ultimately manage or better handle her grief. Great story and lovely narration...which can totally make or break the book. The descriptive way that the author writes had be pausing to jot things down to go back & reference because the way that she does that is so brilliant & fun...it’s magic, really.

The book discussion in the end was also nice. Generally when I hear the author’s actual voice after thinking of the author as the narrator, it ruins it for me...I just hate that I’ve heard it. Not this time though. I’m pleased to say that her voice was exactly perfect and it completed the whole picture for me. Love knowing that the author now travels from her house through her garden to start her day of writing. So hooked! Can’t wait for her next book!