The Next Thing You Know
A Novel
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
A musician facing the untimely end of his career. An end-of-life doula with everything, and nothing, to lose. A Star Is Born meets Me Before You in this powerful novel by the author of A Million Reasons Why.
"Grab the tissues." - People Magazine
As an end-of-life doula, Nova Huston’s job—her calling, her purpose, her life—is to help terminally ill people make peace with their impending death. Unlike her business partner, who swears by her system of checklists, free-spirited Nova doesn’t shy away from difficult clients: the ones who are heartbreakingly young, or prickly, or desperate for a caregiver or companion.
When Mason Shaylor shows up at her door, Nova doesn’t recognize him as the indie-favorite singer-songwriter who recently vanished from the public eye. She knows only what he’s told her: That life as he knows it is over. His deteriorating condition makes playing his guitar physically impossible—as far as Mason is concerned, he might as well be dead already.
Except he doesn’t know how to say goodbye.
Helping him is Nova’s biggest challenge yet. She knows she should keep clients at arm’s length. But she and Mason have more in common than anyone could guess… and meeting him might turn out to be the hardest, best thing that’s ever happened to them both.
Jessica Strawser's The Next Thing You Know is an emotional, resonant story about the power of human connection, love when you least expect it, hope against the odds, and what it really takes to live life with no regrets.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Strawser (A Million Reasons Why) spins a magical tale of love and loss in her wildly unpredictable latest. After botched surgery renders accomplished singer-songwriter Mason Shaylor unable to play the guitar, he believes his life is over at 36. But is it? That is a question Strawser expertly explores through the fraught and impossibly beautiful story of Mason and his end-of-life doula, Nova Huston, who herself survived a terminal cancer diagnosis. When Mason arrives at Nova's office and implies he has a terminal condition, her business partner Kelly Monroe assigns Mason's case to Nova, who treats him at home. After his death (which appears to be a suicide), Nova and Kelly learn he was not terminally ill after all, and Mason's enraged mother files a lawsuit against them. As the story toggles back and forth between the past and present, Nova and Kelly attempt to understand what really happened to Mason, and Kelly learns Mason and Nova had fallen in love. The author skillfully keeps the plot twists coming, leading to a bittersweet yet ultimately comforting finale. Strawser sensitively handles the grief and pain that surrounds a death, and buoys this with a strong cast of supporting characters. This smart and tender story gives a nice payoff.
