The perfect blend of humor and heart.  

 

On the eve of Alice’s 40th birthday, as she ponders the status of her love life and career alongside the onslaught of grief over her ailing father, she finds herself transported back to her 16th birthday.  

 

Time travel is not my favorite modality for storytelling.  But in This Time Tomorrow, Straub brilliantly and uniquely uses it as a platform to explore grief in a poignant and cathartic way. 

 

As Alice ventures back to her 16th birthday where her dad is young, vibrant, and healthy, she’s able to see him anew.  She’s also able to notice and appreciate the tiny moments full of joy and love that often went unnoticed in the hubbub of teenage life.  With each of Alice’s jaunts into the past, I found myself equally reminiscent.  

 

But this story is much more than reflection and grief.  Ultimately it’s a heartwarming love story.  Love of/for:

✨Fathers and daughters 

✨Best friend soul mates

✨The city that is a part of us

✨The decade that build us (90s!)

✨And maybe mostly, love of self  

 

*I have a special appreciation for books that take me back to my youth, and this one was brimming with 90s nostalgia that brought back so many of my favorite memories.  

 

I love being able to combine the print + audio versions of a book. And with Marin Ireland narrating the audio version of This Time Tomorrow, I gladly partnered my earbuds and physical book. She gave an authenticity to Alice that I found relatable and endearing.  

 

Many thanks to @riverheadbooks @emmastraub and @prhaudio for these #gifted copies.