The Other Path

Alyssa Rainer is on the cusp of graduating as a registered nurse and has her whole life ahead of her. Yet she is torn between two alluring opportunities: starting her career while continuing her studies in Saskatoon, or relocating from Brandon to Winnipeg, where a whirlwind romance tempts her to abandon her long-held plans. Should Alyssa follow her heart or her mind? Set in the mid-1960s, Alyssa’s young life is scarred by the death of her brother, her father’s racism, her mother’s abuse, and her parents’ tumultuous marriage, which make her eager to venture off on her own. But the ghosts of the past haunt her and despite Alyssa’s successes, the future she had envisioned does not unfold as anticipated.

Decades later, Alyssa reflects on the tough choices she made during her life, wondering, What if? What if she had taken a different path, like the doppelgänger she has been mistaken for over the years who appears to be living a parallel life—perhaps the one meant for Alyssa?