The Poppy Fields

 

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Fiction

Narrated by Marin Ireland and several others

2025

Finished on July 16, 2025

Rating: 2/5 (OK)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit The Measure comes a stunning speculative story of healing, self-discovery, forgiveness, and found friendship.

Welcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.

Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.

On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way west to the Poppy Fields—where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.

A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?

It's no surprise that as we grow older, we begin to lose our loved ones. In the past two decades I've had to say goodbye to my dad, stepdad, an uncle and an aunt, in addition to three cousins. Former neighbors have passed away, as well as a spouse or two of friends and coworkers. I am fortunate that none of my close friends, or siblings, have passed away, and my 92-year-old mother is still going strong! For the most part, these deaths weren't unexpected, although I'd be the first to say I'd love another decade with each and every one. However, the loss of my 24-year-old stepdaughter was the most shocking and heartbreaking death I have ever experienced. That grief was all-consuming, and not just for several weeks or months, but well over a year. (Truthfully, some say the second year is the worst year and "they" would be correct.) The sorrow my husband and I (and our younger daughter) experienced in those first few years is unimaginable. And it's not something one gets over, but rather learns to live with. 

As I listened to The Poppy Fields, I couldn't help but feel annoyed with the premise of the story. The author centers her narrative around the idea that an experimental method has been created in which a person who is grieving the loss of a loved one is able to visit the Poppy Fields in order to sleep (via a medically induced coma of sorts) through their grief. Some people stay for a month, others for up to eight weeks. The belief is that these individuals can return to their lives having moved on from their loss. Bah! This would be no different than drinking yourself into a blackout every day to numb the pain. Or curling up in a ball, sleeping all hours of the day, avoiding well-meaning friends and family. As much as we'd like a quick fix, the only way through a loss is to lean in and accept the hard truth. To do the difficult work. To embrace the sadness and loneliness. It's hard. Very hard. But it's the only way to heal, and learn to live a happy and productive life. 

I read Nikki Erlick's debut novel, The Measure, a couple of years ago and thought it was fine, but having read this recent release, I've come to the conclusion that her books are not for me. Her characters are flat, and the plots are predictable and lacking tension. Had I read the print edition rather than listening to the audio, this may have been a DNF for me.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How the Light Gets In

 

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard

Fiction

2024

Finished on July 7, 2025

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard comes the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her beloved novel Count the Ways —a complex story of three generations of a family and its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor. 

**** Spoiler Alert - Do not read if you haven't read Count the Ways ****

Following the death of her former husband, Cam, fifty-seven-year-old Eleanor resides on the New Hampshire farm where they raised three children to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. Toby’s older brother, Al, is married and living in Seattle with his wife; their sister, Ursula, lives in Vermont with her husband and two children. Although all appears stable, old resentments, anger, and bitterness simmer just beneath the surface. 

**** End of Spoiler ****

How the Light Gets In follows Eleanor and her family through fifteen years (2009 to 2024) as their story plays out against a uniquely American backdrop and the events that transform their world (climate change, the January 6th insurrection, school violence) and shape their lives (later-life love, parental alienation, steadfast friendship). With her trademark sensitivity and insight, Joyce Maynard paints an indelible portrait of characters both familiar and new making their way over rough, messy, and treacherous terrain to find their way to what is, for each, a place to call home.

I was really looking forward to reading How the Light Gets In, but sadly it didn't live up to my high expectations. Joyce Maynard's earlier novel, Count the Ways, made my 2023 Top Ten list and I was eager to revisit the follow-up story of Eleanor and her family. Since it had been over a year since I read the previous novel, I decided to give the final chapters in that book a quick re-read. I shouldn't have bothered. Maynard spends an excessive amount of time providing backstory details, not just in the opening chapters, but throughout the entire book. At 422 pages in length, I felt the novel could have used more editing to cut through the repetitious detail of past and present details of Eleanor's life. The first half of the story lacks tension, which made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the book. The references to historical events that I enjoyed reading about in Count the Ways were overdone here, as if Maynard had a checklist to complete, dropping incidents such as the Sandy Hook school shooting, the disappointing election in 2016, Covid and the negativity toward vaccines and Dr. Fauci, John Prine's death, as well as George Floyd's murder. I also felt the sudden mending of one relationship a bit far-fetched after so many years of estrangement. With all of these quibbles, it's a wonder I finished the book, but the second half was a little fresher with enough to keep me interested. And the musical references (Kris Kristofferson's Help Me Make It Through the Night, Warren Zevon's Keep Me In Your Heart, and John Prine's When I Get to Heaven) are always a treat when encountered in a novel. While this may be my least favorite of Joyce Maynard's, I've certainly read a lot of winners by her. Click on any of the links below to read my reviews:

The Bird Hotel (4.5/5)

Count the Ways (5/5)

After Her (4/5)

Where Love Goes (4/5)

Labor Day (4.5/5)

The Usual Rules (5/5)

Looking Back - Perfect Match

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult

Fiction

2002

Finished on May 7, 2002

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good!)

Publisher's Blurb:

Picoult brings to life a female prosecutor whose cherished family is shattered when she learns that her five-year-old son has been sexually abused.

What does it mean to be a good mother?

How far would you go in the name of love -- and justice?

In the course of her everyday work, career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost prosecutes child molesters and works determinedly to ensure that a legal system with too many loopholes keeps these criminals behind bars. But when her own five-year-old son, Nathaniel, is traumatized by a sexual assault, Nina and her husband, Caleb, a quiet and methodical stone mason, are shattered, ripped apart by an enraging sense of helplessness in the face of a futile justice system that Nina knows all too well. In a heartbeat, Nina's absolute truths and convictions are turned upside down, and she hurtles toward a plan to exact her own justice for her son -- no matter the consequence, whatever the sacrifice.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

I couldn't put it down! Picoult's books are not great works of literature, and rarely do I find a beautiful passage to mark, yet they're great reads. Always satisfying and very entertaining. The subject matter is always original to each book. They don't blend together and are very memorable. This one was about a prosecutor who faces the horrible knowledge that her five-year-old son has been sexually abused. What occurs in the chapters to follow is astonishing, but as a parent myself, I have no idea if I wouldn't react in a similar manner. A real page-turner. Great airplane book!

My Current Thoughts:

I remember that I enjoyed this one a lot, but the details of the story are long gone. Picoult is a favorite of mine and I think there's only one of her books that I didn't care for. I still have a few more to read, too, which is nice. 

2025 2nd Quarter Favorites

 

The God in the Woods by Liz Moore (5/5)

Tin Man by Sarah Winman (4.5/5)

We Spread by Iain Reid (4.5/5)

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (4.5/5)

A Month in Summary - June 2025

Point Hudson Marina & RV Park

Port Townsend, Washington

June 2025

It's summertime, my favorite season of the year! We don't experience the horrible heat and humidity that so many of you have during the summer months, so I'm always happy when it's warm enough to break out my shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. Spring, fall, and winter you can find me in jeans and a thermal layered under a flannel shirt, and I get so bored with my daily "uniform."

We were on the road for a couple of weeks, and I feel like I didn't get a lot of time to read, but I wound up with the same number of books read in June as I did in the two months prior. It helps that one of the books was a very quick read despite its length. We're home for the rest of the summer, so I'm hopeful that I can knock several off from my Summer Reading Challenge list.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Table for Two by Amor Towles (3.5/5)

Tin Man by Sarah Winman (4.5/5)

Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout (3/5)

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave (2/5)

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Dept. Q - Great 8-episode mystery series, as long as you don't mind all the f-bombs. I really liked the chemistry between the three main characters (Morck, Akram, and Rose), and look forward to a second season.

Patience - A British–Belgian detective drama series set in Yorkshire. Patience works in the archive/records department and is autistic. Ella Maisy Purvis, who plays Patience, is also autistic. We enjoyed the show, but it lacks depth and tension, especially after watching Dept. Q. 

Visitors:

We enjoyed a great visit with Mark & Ana (my brother and sister-in-law) who came up from San Diego for a long weekend. 

Travels:

Tillamook, Oregon

Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

Point Hudson Marina & RV Park, Washington

(Not the prettiest RV park, but check out

 the views from inside our RV below.)

Our travel buddies, Dave & Molly

Quinault River Inn & RV Park, Washington

Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington

Rod had a book talk in Port Townsend, so we took the RV up to Washington, enjoying a few of our favorite camping spots along the way. I'll share more photos from that trip in the coming weeks. 

We live in an area where fireworks are banned, and it's so nice to not hear explosions days before and days after the 4th. Such a change from our neighborhood in Nebraska! I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July.