Author: Sarah Adlakha
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: August 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Sliding Doors meets Life After Life in Sarah Adlakha's story about a wife and mother who is given the chance to start over at the risk of losing everything she loves.
A second chance is the last thing she wants.
When thirty-nine-year-old Maria Forssmann wakes up in her seventeen-year-old body, she doesn’t know how she got there. All she does know is she has to get to her home in Bienville, Mississippi, to her job as a successful psychiatrist and, most importantly, to her husband, daughters, and unborn son.
But she also knows that, in only a few weeks, a devastating tragedy will strike her husband, a tragedy that will lead to their meeting each other.
Can she change time and still keep what it’s given her?
Exploring the responsibilities love lays on us, the complicated burdens of motherhood, and the rippling impact of our choices, She Wouldn't Change a Thing is a dazzling debut from a bright new voice.
My Thoughts: Holy Bookworm, Batman, what did I just read here? This story gives the reader a front-row seat to the opportunity to start one’s life over, so to speak. What would you do if you were given such a chance? When Maria suddenly finds herself in this situation, her primary objective is to get back to her husband, daughters, unborn son and her psychiatry practice. Learning her trip back to her seventeen-year-old self comes with a life-or-death purpose, what will she choose? Fulfill her purpose or go back to her family? She can only choose one. I did not envy Maria one little bit. The stress and anxiety she feels was so brilliantly written and narrated, I felt loads of empathy for her and her situation.
This story got me thinking about so many topics such as reincarnation, past life regression and death, just to name a few. I couldn’t imagine myself in Maria’s shoes, because she is carrying a heavy burden, especially when she wakes up no longer pregnant and back in her parent’s home and seventeen again. Not only does it freak her out and she thinks she’s dreaming, but the people around her think she’s lost her mind, demanding to know where her husband and children are.
This story has so much going on, not just with Maria, but with the numerous supporting characters as well. It’s a lot to unpack and it took me a few stops and starts with the audio to get plugged in, but once I did, I was riveted. The writing and the story are exceptional. The characters are very complex and well developed. Their behaviors, thoughts and dialogue are appropriate for the situations they find themselves in. The audio narration performed by Cassandra Campbell was superb. She conveys not just the emotions of the characters in her reading, but also their personalities. I got an excellent sense of knowing these characters, which is vital for the reader to have any empathy for them.
My Final Verdict: Sarah Adlakha has created an amazing story around the concept of time travel and I absolutely loved it. Readers who enjoy the same concept will enjoy this tale as well as fans of women’s fiction and readers who love strong familial relationships in their stories. This book was highly focused on family and the connections we have with the people we meet throughout our journey of life.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of She Wouldn’t Change a Thing from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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