This is a story about the many forms of love and death. It takes the form of the story of Mason, a musician, and Nova, the end-of-life doula whose help he enlists. I don't usually like to include information from a book's cover information when writing a review, but in this case that info is just too accurate to skip: this is a book about "the power of human connection, love when you least expect it, hope against the odds, and what it really takes to live life with no regrets."
It isn't just about romantic love - there's the love between parent and child (Nova's partner and her adolescent daughter, as well as Nova and her mother). There's love between siblings and love between friends. And there's also the love of one's life and career. And types of death? There's physical death, of course - that's what an end-of-life doula deals with. But there's also the death of a beloved career, the death of the life one always planned for, essentially the idea that life is what's happening while we're making plans and how much of life is making adjustments to the changes that inevitably arise. Like life itself, this book is both heartbreaking and hopeful, and it's left me wanting to try some of Jessica's Strawser's other books.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

The Next Thing You Know is about Nova Huston, an end-of-life doula who helps terminal clients prepare for a “peaceful transition” on their own terms. Her new client is Mason Shaylor, a singer-songwriter who has a deteriorating condition that now makes performing his music impossible.

At first prickly and resistant to Nova’s attempts to learn about his life and his disease, Mason and Nova eventually connect. Soon their bond deepens, but a shocking turn of events has Nova under scrutiny for her relationship with a client, and Nova questioning herself. Strawser has written a poignant tale about love, friendship, and redemption.

This was a very emotional story. It was interesting to learn about what an end-of-life doula does but the pacing kept me from truly enjoying it. It's too bad because I loved the writing and the characters and the story truly touched me.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the copy to review.

#thenextthingyouknow #jessicastrawser ugh. My heart. I was all up in the feels yesterday and over the weekend. Many thanks to #netgalley #stmartinspress for graciously allowing me to read this. My post is late but 🙈 you definitely want to run quickly and grab this one. Nova. She’s a death doula. She helps bring peace and order and comfort to humans at the end of their journey. Mason comes to the death doula looking for help and clarity. But. What Nova and Mason don’t realize is that they will need each other. This book will make you giggle. Feel alive. And rip your heart to shreds. It gives all the feels. #netgalleyreview #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations

The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser

Brief Summary: Nova is a Death doula who takes on clients as an end of life companion to help them accept their terminal diagnosis. Mason, a famous indie singer, arrives at her business struggling to grieve the loss of his ability to play guitar but not quite sure how to say goodbye. She takes him on as a client. This is my third book by Jessica Strawser and by far my favorite!

Highlights: I am a psychologist who works with patients who have ALS and am all too familiar with having conversations about death in a world that doesn’t talk openly about that topic. I was cheering them both on and loved the theme of trying to see that life can still have meaning in light of a terminal illness diagnosis. Despite the serious subject matter, I could not put this book down and flew through it in a few days.

Explanation of Rating: 5/5-this book contains so many good life lessons about living and dying. I will be thinking about this one for awhile. I have already purchased a hard copy for my own library to support the author and will be recommending this to my patients and fellow health and mental health care providers.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Very poignant and captivating. Loved reading about the different perspectives and I found myself caring about each character. Finished it in two sittings! Would recommend.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

I have liked Jessica Strawser's other work so you could understand how excited I was to dive into The Next Thing You Know.

Nova Huston is an end-of-life doula. She works for Kelly Monroe at Partying Your Way. Kelly is also a doula and she and her daughter Willow have formed a friendship and a bond with Nova.

End-of-life doulas can be their client's support system, the go in-between with family. They can guide their clients with their legal issues and end-of-life care. End-of-life doulas are also there to help with the mental, emotional, and spiritual parts of their journey. Kelly's way of working is more by the book. She's responsible and loves to follow protocol. On the other hand, Nova just goes more with her gut feeling. Nova also takes the cases Kelly doesn't like to do, for example, a young person their age dying. So when Mason Shaylor comes knocking, Kelly immediately passes him to Nova.

Mason tells Nova he has a deteriorating condition and there is nothing left to be done to help him. After a rocky start, Nova takes him as her new client and she's hopeful she can help him with his transition.

Then we switched to the present where Nova is in trouble and Kelly's business might be in danger of closing. Mason's mother has made an accusation against Nova. First to the police and then to the media. Nova's world is imploding while she mourns her loss too.

The Next Thing You Know was thought-provoking and also quite informative. I knew all about Hospice and end-of-life care but not about doulas and the extra help they could bring to a patient in the right setting. Most of the time is quite hard for patients and families to accept hospice coming in and helping. I believe the last time I saw a statistic, hospice was underused. Most people are only in hospice for a median average of 24 days so not enough time to actually use all its benefits.

Death for most people is not an easy topic to discuss. Patients and family members tend to avoid talking about advance directives. Yet, the one constant is that we are all going to die so it would be nice if we can get the help we need during the end of our life. A support system, helping with pain, acceptance of the inevitable, seeking forgiveness, dealing with unresolved feelings and regrets. I can see the use of end-of-life doulas in this regard.

Even though I liked this book, I didn't like the ending quite that much. I thought the explanation was just too out there for my liking. Other than that, I have no qualms about recommending it.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The topic of an end of life doula intrigued me to read this and one could tell a lot of research was done by the author, particularly providing info on the legal aspects. However I found the timelines back and forth not enjoyable and it took me a long time to finish it. I found myself not really interested in the characters either.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I finished this over twenty four hours ago and my mind still keeps going back to it. The Next Thing You Know completely destroyed me in a good way. It gave me all the feels from happiness at the most simple joy of a sunrise to sad tears for the early loss of a loved one to the fears of a parent just trying to do their best and everything in between. The questions posed in this book about an end of life doula falling for her terminal patient are important, relevant and discussion worthy. I’m hoping to convince my book club that we need to read this story next.

Emotional, and a unique perspective. I had never heard of a death doula before this book. I found the law aspect of this profession interesting. It was suspenseful and kept me invested, however I found the story to be anticlimactic. I was anticipating more and wishing for a different direction.

This is a solid book that covers a topic that I knew nothing about, end of life doulas. I appreciate the research and the unique topic picked by Ms. Strawser for this book. While generally this was an entertaining read, it became slow at certain times and a bit of the side plots seemed unnecessary. This is a 3.5 star ⭐️ book for me, but because I’m not sure I’d want to read it again, I’ll have to round down to 3 stars ⭐️, instead of up. I understand those who may have enjoyed this more than me. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy for review.

The Next Thing You Know, by Jessica Strawser was not a far reach for me, since I have loved her books in the past. I have enjoyed a few of them, so was really looking forward to reading this book. This book focuses on Nova, a death doula (someone who helps a person come to terms with their impending death, and also helps to support they and their family in that time.) Nova meets her new client, Mason, and she is surprised. He is younger than the usual clientele, and he is also a little more quiet about his diagnosis and prognosis. Nova's practice is a little unorthodox, compared to her partner's and so she follows the lead of what Mason might want from his doula. This leads them down some paths and adventures, and eventually to a deeper relationship than just client and service provider.

This book is told from multiple points of view, and from multiple timelines. Although I did enjoy this, it got confusing at times, especially when a more "minor" character had a whole chapter dedicated. Chapters were mostly told in Nova's "now" and "before" voice, but also chapters were told from the points of view of Mason, Nova's business partner, the business partner's daughter, Willow, Nova's mother and Mason's agent. Some had a few chapters, some as little as just one chapter in their voice. I thought I could have done without some of those minor characters having a whole chapter, and found a way to further the story without confusing the issue.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, for the education about what a doula is in this context, and the background that was set. The end was also a good conclusion and put all the pieces of the puzzle together. However, I felt like the middle of the story lagged a little bit, and I just wanted to fast forward to more "exciting" parts. Overall, I am glad I read this book, I just wanted there to be a little more in that middle section that would have kept my interest for the duration of the book.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the character development and messaging around family. The information included about death doulas was unique and although I just knew how this story would end, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. If you need a good cry, this is the book for you!

This is an unusual novel with a man dying and a death doula being the central characters. Nova has dedicated her life to helping people face death. Usually for family members but this time it's Mason, a musician who is dying. Helping him is Nova’s biggest challenge yet. She knows she should keep clients at arm’s length. But she and Mason have more in common than anyone could guess… and meeting him might turn out to be the hardest, best thing that’s ever happened to them both. This is a very emotional book and you will find some parts harder to read. Realistic and very relevant. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A raw, emotional read that deals with end-of-life plans, and preparation for death, even at a younger age. Nova, an end-of-life doula, works with client, Mason, who is devastated to lose his ability to play music. How will their relationship evolve?
Such an intriguing read, and a field of work that I wasn't overly aware of. This book caused me to reevaluate my end-of-life plans, even as someone not quite in their 40s. Highly recommend...again, very emotional, though!

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is the third book I’ve read by Jessica Strawser and once again she manages to give us quite the emotional story. I wasn’t quite sure I was going to be able to read this one as I had just lost my dog, but I have to say that while this book is sad, it is so much more than a book focused solely on death.

This is such a thought-provoking novel. Death is something we tend to not like to talk about or even think about and yet it is inevitable. And I’m so glad that I had the chance to read this book because it really makes you think and consider your own end-of-life. Yes, this is is a sad and heart-breaking read, but it’s also one full of hope and it’s inspiring at times, too.

I loved the way this story was told – it just grabbed me and never let up. Alternating from the present to the past, it slowly fills in all the pieces to the puzzle so that you finally get the big picture of what happened. It is mostly told from Nova and Mason’s points of view, though occasionally we hear from some of the other characters’ points of view as well. But the flashbacks, while at times might be a bit confusing, really do make sense the way it is told, and I just loved this. We get crucial information at just the right time and once it all comes together, I was left stunned! That reveal at the end came without any hints and I’m glad it wasn’t one of those things that was left open to interpretation.

This book really captured my heart and left me with lots of food for thought. While it is a bit heavy at times, it really would make for a good bookclub pick as there is so much to discuss here. It takes you on quite the emotional journey but to me, those are always the best reads!

I was so up and down in this story. It never truly felt fully developed. I kept waiting for things to make sense. I loved Me Before You so I felt this would be similar. But sadly I was wrong. The characters frustrated me and I couldn’t make any connections. Basically the premise was all there but it was slow and flat.

I could go on about things I don’t like but I’m not going to bash the work of this author. Would I suggest this book? Probably not. Will I read something by this author again? Possibly.

Like always please remember this is my opinion. If this book interests you pick it up and read it. You just might love it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This was so enchanting! At first, it reminded me a lot of one of my favorite books, ME BEFORE YOU - but it definitely had a uniqueness and stood on it's own :) I absolutely adore Jessica's writing!