This book was archived before I was able to download it onto my phone and I'm unable to leave a review.

Jessica Stawser is one of my favorite authors! This was an interesting, entertaining read with all the feels!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* this was a great read! at first i wasn't too sure but it was hard to put down after that.

Sometimes I read a synopsis and add a book to my list, and never go back to the synopsis. So when I get around to reading it, I know it was of interest to me but I don’t remember what it’s about.
In the case of this book, that did not serve me well.
I went in to this book with entirely different expectations. Kind of expected a mystery. Or at least a mysterious tone.
This was neither mystery nor romance. Which left the genre really unclear for me. So it was hard for me to figure out how to feel about it.
Was it supposed to be a romance? I *think* so?
But I just didn’t get the romance of it.
Saying it’s the love child of Me Before You and Star is Born is a huuuuugggge stretch. Because it was neither as entertaining, romantic nor depressing as those.
I just didn’t connect with it.
So many points of view. So many time periods and flash backs and flash forwards (?) that sometimes it was hard to keep track.
I did like how it wrapped up, but that’s about it.

I'm not sure if I just didn't read the description of this book or what but it totally was not what I expected when I first started listening to it, but let me just tell you how pleasantly surprised I was with what I was getting! This book was so many things wrapped up in one! It was like the gift that keeps on giving the more you read!

If you are looking for a book that will touch you in all of your feely parts, then this is the book for you! I feel like Jessica Strawser did her diligent research before writing this title and I felt like she hit the nail right on the head but in such a delicate manner! This story reminded me of something between a cross of Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks and/or Colleen Hoover! These are some of my favorite author's so this book was totally a hit for me!

This was such an emotional read, but I don't think it was in a bad way. I felt like I was feeling what I was reading down to my core, and I appreciate that in a book!! I really enjoyed getting to know Nova, Mason, Kelly and Willow and you even heard the story through all of these points-of-view. Other readers mentioned they had trouble following all of these, but I didn't seem to have a problem with that at all!

The Next Thing You Know was narrated by Christa Lewis and I think she did this title justice! I hadn't listened to a title narrated by her prior, but I wouldn't hesitate to jump at a chance to listen to any other titles she narrated. I feel like she fit the book, spot on!

Overall, this was an amazing emotional journey as your reading! If this book doesn't hit you in all of your feels, nothing will! Get your tissues ready, but in the best way possible!

**I would like to offer a HUGE THANK YOU to Jessica Strawser, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Next Thing You Know, which allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review.**

A belated review for The Next Thing You Know:

What I loved:
-Theme of getting ready to end one's life with a death doula (very interesting premise for a book, and a possibly polarizing topic for some)

-Easy-to-follow plot and narrative even with switching between different character POVs

-Mystery and budding romance/friendship

-Heartbreaking ending


Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener audiobook via the NetGalley app.

I enjoyed this book. I listened as an audiobook and initially I was a little confused because the book does jump around a bit with the time frames and characters. Overall it was a good story line although I wish we would have found out what was actually wrong with Mason and whether his death was actually an accident.

I thought this was a very entertaining listen. I was initially attracted to the love story of a dying musician, and wasn't sure how I'd receive the hospice doula part, having just been through a long period of hospice with my father. But the story had good twists and tension, and I thought the plot was well-crafted. Thanks for the opportunity to listen to this story.

The Next Thing You Know came to my attention when it was receiving comparisons to Me Before You. And there are definitely some similarities between the two stories, though I was not as emotionally attached in this story as I was with Me Before You.

The Next Thing You Know is about Nova, who is a death doula. Her job is to help people who are terminally ill make peace with their death and counsel them through their final months. Nova's life and career are turned upside down when Mason, a musician whose career is over due to a debilitating condition, shows up at her office door,

It was interesting to learn more about death doulas in this story. That is a career that I had never heard of before, so learning about something new was fascinating. However, the story itself did not always hold my attention. It took me a long time to read, and I just didn't feel connected with any of the characters. I felt like it was the kind of story that was supposed to pack an emotional punch, but I didn't really feel it.

Definitely an interesting concept with the death doula story line though, and that's something that I will keep thinking about after finishing this one

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of this book. This was an amazing but sad love story. I learned what a death doula was. A death doula is basically a doula to help you process and understand what it is like to be dying. The main female character was at one point diagnosed with what she thought to be a terminal cancer so she set off to live life to the fullest for what she thought was the end of her life. Somehow she beats cancer and decides to become a death doula. It is the perfect fit of a job for her because she knows exactly what it is like to be on the brink of deaths door. One day a younger man comes in ( mid 30's) he wants servies of a death doula. He is elusive in telling what he is diagnosed with but it is up to the paitent to fully disclose that information. One thing leads to another and they fall in love. Then one day he stops all contact and stops with the death doula. He realized he was in love.. then he dies in a fatal car accident. I can not bring light to how amazing this book is. You will have to read it to find out what happens the in and outs of this amazing book

Nova Huston’s job as a death doula is to help those with terminal illness become at peace with their death. When Mason Shaylor becomes her client, she doesn’t recognize him as a singer-songwriter who recently disappeared from the public eye. All she knows is what he’s told her: that life as he knows it is over, and his deteriorating condition has made it impossible for him to play the guitar anymore. Nova knows she should keep her clients at arm’s length, but with Mason, she finds it impossible to. Told from multiple perspectives, the book jumps back and forth in time, before and after Mason’s death.

I had high expectations after hearing this book compared to <i>Me Before You</i>, and that was probably unfair to this book. It was an interesting story, but for me, Nova and Mason’s story doesn’t touch Will and Louisa’s, and I didn’t feel emotionally invested in this story. I did enjoy learning about death doulas and seeing how Nova did her work with the other clients mentioned in the book. Christa Lewis did a nice job narrating the audiobook. I did enjoy the story overall, but it was easy to forget about while I wasn’t listening to it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Jessica Stawser is a go to author for me! So, when I found out she had a new book coming, I knew that I had to get my hands out. I have loved her other books, but unfortunately, this one did not do it for me. I don't know if it was because of the actual storyline or if it was because I listened to it.
I was unable to connect with any of the characters. I felt like every single one of them were bland and boring. I didn't feel an emotion attachment.
It was hard to keep things straight and the fact that the timeline bounced from past to present (within a few months). I felt the story would have been better without so many narrators. It caused to much confusion for me and honestly pulled away from the story.

The Next Thing You Know would be an awesome pick for a book club. The concept of “end of life doulas” welcomes discussion, and the book leaves readers with a lot to unpack. It would have been fun to discuss this with a fellow reader after I finished.

The author approaches a potentially polarizing topic with a lot of grace and sensitivity. From the blurb I assumed this book would be about physician-assisted suicide, but I was completely wrong. Strawser clearly did her research, and it was fun to learn more about this field that I have no experience with

This is a very powerful, emotional story, and readers should take care to make sure they are in the right frame of mind to read this book. I really enjoyed Nova and Mason’s story, although it certainly brought the tears.

Audio Review: Christa Lewis is a new name to me, but I enjoyed her production of The Next Thing You Know. She spoke clearly, and her comforting voice was a great accompaniment to a heartbreaking story.

I couldn’t get into the on at all. Why I have no idea 🤷‍♀️ I don’t really know how to describe why. It’s simply not for me.

With so much societal emphasis on birth, babies and beginnings, The Next Thing You Know paves the way for unconventional conversations on death to transpire.
We meet Nova, a death doula, who aims to guide terminal individuals by helping them obtain closure and Mason, a passionate musician losing functioning in his hands who is skeptically seeking her services. Combining ethical debates on life and death, studying what makes a life worth living, and accepting that things don't always go as plan, Nova and Mason help us to examine how we help others and find our purpose.
The build of multiple points of view, then and now flashbacks, and question inducing events make this a compulsive read. It would make for an excellent book club pick.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so beautiful and I had such a good time with it. The narrator was superb and incredible. I connected so much with our hero and loved following him in this story. This is definitely a must read!

This was a beautifully written emotional roller coaster of a story. In the US death with dignity is not a universally embraced concept as most people don’t want to even acknowledge their mortality. So many pass without ever having shared what they to happen when they die. For those who have decided to get help to create their own path and navigate their own journey, they engage a death doula for their of life plans. This is a story of love, life, death, conflict, family relationships, business relationships, learning to live and embrace life and of course finding your own path to the end. I truly don’t want to give too much away, but this was a thought provoking, emotional book about learning to live when you’ve got nothing to lose.

Interesting novel about a death doula... something I had never heard about before. Many perspectives were explored with the past and present lives of the characters, one being a terminal ill musician. The song at the end brought me to tears. A very quick and enjoyable read.

Loved being able to listen to this book. I could feel the emotion so much more. It did give off some me before you vibes but it made me love it so much more. I also liked it went back and forth from then and now.

This was such an amazing book. Heartfelt and heartbreak all in one. I am familiar with the concept of a birth doula but this is the first I am hearing about a death doula. I love all the emotional drama that was packed in this book and how how some interesting questions about our responsibility to other, assisted suicide, our personal rights over our body were raised. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for a honest review.