Susan Lewis | Bibliotica

About the book, One Minute Later

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 11, 2019)

International bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Susan Wiggs.

How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering…

Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous apartment in London, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. After escaping her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her devoted and enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now she’s determined to find out what it is. Though her condition makes her fragile and vulnerable and she’s afraid of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.

Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Josh and Vivi are soon inseparable, unaware of the past their families share. All Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own…

Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.

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About the author, Susan Lewis

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of more than forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense, and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, James; stepsons, Michael and Luke; and mischievous dogs, Coco and Lulu.

Connect with Susan:

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My Thoughts

This novel is a somewhat sad, extremely honest family drama that centers around organ donation, but adds in a complex mother-daughter relationship as well (as if those are ever simple). Through the main character, Vivi’s eyes, it also examines the differences between our expectations and our realities.

I felt the author created extremely realistic family dynamics. The way returning to your childhood home makes you feel less than an adult was very relatable to me, even without the twist of a chronic illness. As well I felt crafting the story so it took place in two time periods was a deft move letting us have more scope than just Vivi’s immediate surroundings.

While parts of this book are a bit harrowing, overall, I think this is a meaty novel that is well worth the read, and can certainly provide catharsis for women with difficulty relating to their own mothers or their own adult daughters.

Goes well with a glass of red wine, crisp apples and sharp cheddar.