“The two lives of Lydia Byrd” by Josie Silver poses an interesting concept. What would happen if you were able to visit an alternate universe after losing someone. In the story Lydia travels to this alternate universe in her sleep when she takes sleeping pills, and is dropped into a plane where Freddie, her fiancé did not die.
I love reading books along this concept, if our lives are all a culmination of every decision we’ve ever made there has to be other astral planes where our lives continued in a different direction, the other choice. I read a book a few years ago called “Dark Matter” (which I highly recommend by the way), that explored a man being kidnapped by himself from an alternate dimension, because that self regretted the decision made at a major turning point in life. After reading that novel it made complete sense to me that there would be other astral planes, containing different versions of ourselves, and every time we make a large decision another plan splits off. (do I sound crazy? Probably)
...anyway, I’m actually impressed with Lydia’s character. While in the end she views her trips to this alternate universe as a weakness, a refusal to deal with her pain and loss. I see someone incredibly strong. If god forbid something happened to my husband, I don’t think I could visit him in an alternate dimension without completely losing my shit and making him think I was completely insane. How do you act normally around that person? I understand being grateful to have a window into a life where they still exist, but how do you manage to be around them without constantly holding them, without constantly sobbing? I think Lydia is incredibly strong, because I would have been a hot sobbing mess.
And yes she was avoiding her grief, that's a very common reaction. No one wants to feel that crushing loss and sadness. I was so proud of her character when she went back to work and made sure that she had a tether in her “real” world so that she wouldn’t lose herself in an unsustainable fantasy.
All I saw from Lydia was strength and determination. A strong woman who pulled herself back from the worst moment of her life and became a better and stronger person. She delivered a baby in the middle of the night for gods sake….
And yes, she ran away after that, but that impulsive action was probably the best thing for her at the time. I was actually super upset with her mother and sister for their reactions to her sudden trip. She just lost her fiance, and now her sister who is happily married just had a baby. Of course she needed to get away. Of course she needed space. While her motives were to get away to see Freddie again and spend time with him, I personally think subconsciously she also knew it would be hard in that moment when she was supposed to have been on her honeymoon, to be happy for her sister and the new baby. Going away was probably the best thing she could do for not only herself, but her family members as well.
All in all it was an interesting portrayal of how a person grieves and the possibility of our alternate dimensions.
“The Two Lives of Lydia Byrd” by Josie Silver
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Two_Lives_of_Lydia_Bird/TX6cDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
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