Published digitally by Amazon on April 27, 2023

This short story is part of the Amazon Original Stories series. Specifically, it is part of the Good Intentions collection, a series of stories about “motherly love” (or, in this case, questionable or misunderstood love).

Autumn is a mess. She feels that her mother abandoned her emotionally after her father left. Autumn has regularly received letters from her mother that she hasn’t opened. She won’t tell her husband why she refuses to open the letters, supposedly because she doesn’t know. Her husband has been patient but is drawing away from her for unexplored reasons that presumably extend beyond her failure to read her mail. He might take a job in a different city. He might not want to bring Autumn with him. As she’s about to confront that reality, Autumn realizes she’s pregnant. Well, of course she does, because that’s what happens in domestic dramas. How can Autumn come to understand her mother without becoming a prospective mother herself?

The story addresses Autumn’s internal drama. Surrounding her introspection are two aquatic adventures. In the first, she finds a young dolphin that has separated from its pod, a metaphor for Autumn’s isolated life. It isn’t a great metaphor because the dolphin wants to be part of a pod while Autumn deliberately distances herself from everyone except her friend Callista. Autumn tells Callista all the dark secrets she keeps from her husband. Why can’t she be just as open with her husband? Who knows?

The second adventure pits Autumn against nature when she encounters a storm while sailing alone. That episode is over before it can add dramatic tension to the story.

Instead, the tension is supposed to arise from Autumn's unresolved domestic issues. Will Autumn reconcile with her mother? Will her husband leave her? Will she tell her husband about her pregnancy? Will he change his mind about their seemingly doomed relationship if he learns about the pregnancy? Will a young dolphin teach Autumn that she doesn’t have to be alone?

Readers who care about the answers to such questions might enjoy this story. I regarded it as a humdrum example of domestic fiction. I’m not a fan of the genre so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but this story reminded me of the reasons I’m not a fan. A confrontation between mother and pregnant daughter (“you were the best part of me”) is excessively sentimental, as is Autumn’s heartfelt discussion with her husband in the final paragraphs. Autumn learns an obvious lesson but just in case the reader doesn’t get it, Sejal Bandani spells it out at the story’s end. The story is too sophisticated to be gag-worthy, but it’s entirely predictable.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Autumn is a marine biologist that has a difficult time in her own marriage. After an expedition out at sea, she discovers that she is pregnant, she tries to repair her marriage only for her husband to say that he is leaving on a work trip. She also had a traumatic childhood with her parents' divorce, and subsequntly her mothers alcholism.

I wouldve loved it this was a full lenght book. that went into the current situation the characters faced in lenght. It was hard to connect with the characters.

Autumn's story is not a pleasant one, her father abandoned her, she hasn't seen her mother in years and her marriage is not the best, she doesn't see the light at the end of the tunnel is like everything seems so far away especially happiness.

Autumns is pregnant and she really doesn't know how to feel about this as she has never had a maternal experience or familiar experience in her own childhood with her parents.

Autumn is struggling now to accommodate her past and her present, she feels at a loss

This was a short story, I really enjoy Sejals writing, this is my third book written by her and I do enjoy her stories so much.

Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories, for the advanced copy of The Days Before Us in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed this. Once I'd started I couldn't stop and when it got to the end I actually wanted there to be more. I loved the characters and would have loved to see more about them and their relationships as well.
It was well written, fast paced but engaging and I highly recommend it.

The Days Before Us, by Sejal Badani, is a nice story about healing ourselves. While I like the premise of the story, the actual story felt rather slow and disjointed. I didn't really find myself loving any of the characters either. I didn't dislike them but they just weren't real relatable. I did enjoy the ending, though.

An Amazon Original short story.

Autumn has had a poor experience of family in her past and is struggling now to adjust to her own marriage and the baby she is expecting. We watch her as she realises she needs to see her estranged mother again in order to move on with her own life. Will she be able to come to terms with all this in time to save her own marriage?

This was an enjoyable story, well written and well rounded. I liked the character of Autumn while still feeling sorry for her husband, Jack. Four stars.

Quick Amazon Original Story about a woman learning to love herself despite her childhood & current state of her marriage. When I say quick story I mean QUICK story. Short. I didn't feel like I missed out on anything though. There was juuust enough character development to tell me what I needed to know. Autumn and Jack are having struggles in their marriage. Autumn feels like she can't hold him back from going after a promotion at work. Overall, a good short story. I clicked Read Now a little fast and didn't realize the collection is about motherhood (not something I do or care to resonate with) but it was a good little story.

Cute book that left you wanting more.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

2.5~3★
“Despite her many years as a scientist, each time she dives, she feels like a stranger entering a home to which she yearns to belong.”

My lower rating is not for the storyline itself, which will appeal to many readers. It is the writing that distracted me. I understand this is the part of the Good Intentions series with a focus on motherhood, and it does that well.

Autumn is a young woman who has never forgiven her wayward father or her drunken mother, and now she’s feeling a strain on her relationship with her husband. He has tried to persuade her to make peace with her mother, but she refuses.

When the story opens, Autumn has just got out of bed, getting ready for her day working with her best friend, Callista, diving from a research boat in the Pacific off the coast of California. They became friends in graduate school, and it was one of Callista’s parties that Autumn met Jack.

She has just discovered she is pregnant and doesn’t know when to tell Jack, but the thought of motherhood certainly stirs up a lot of different feelings. There are flashbacks (helpfully in italics) to Autumn’s childhood, to help explain her determination to ignore her mother forever.

“ ‘Autumn stiffens upon her mother’s arrival. Christine set the stage with her moods and made Autumn the understudy in her one-person show. Autumn’s feelings were secondary to her mother’s.

Conditioned from habit, Autumn surreptitiously checks Christine for shaking hands or the smell of alcohol. Finding neither, she exhales.. . . ’

Her mother wants Autumn to take on extra work, says she doesn’t feel well. Autumn, who is studying hard, says her mother would feel better if she quit drinking

“ ‘Christine looks up. Well versed in this dance of advance and withdraw, Autumn retreats into herself in the face of her mom’s anger.’

We can understand Autumn’s attitude and concern. What I have trouble with is some of the language and the style. There were too many instances of poor phrasing that an editor should have picked up, such as these two: “her and Jack’s day trips” and “catches her and Callista’s attention.”

Some of the descriptive writing is lovely, and then some goes over the top for me.

“The moon’s light serves as a warning of impending darkness. Instead of being her salvation, the water could become her judgment.
. . .
But the water cares not for her thoughts or proclamations.”

Unfortunately, if awkward grammar or descriptive language irks me and takes me out of the story, it spoils the experience. I do know that’s personal, and I am certainly aware it’s just my opinion. Having been a potter, this bothered me, too.

“When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure.”

Of course, I know what she meant, but if the clay has been fired, she can’t remold it. She could, however, shatter it and then use the Japanese art of Kintsugi to make it even better. (And I feel sure that is what she will do with her life. 😊)
https://www.lifegate.com/kintsugi

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the copy for review.

Tho it was a short story, I wanted more. Across those 30 pages I got attached to the main character Autumn. I don't do that easily, yet here, there was something familiar about her. Of course, I wanted to know more. It seemed a little superficial at times, but I cannot expect anything more from a short story. Yet, from my understanding there is a strength in a female protagonist who comes to terms with her own pain and decided to ask for help. This is the hardest step. I was inspired by that, and I am happy that even tho it seemed like there is a happy end for her, it's not quite as easy to say so. There are more layers to the whole story, and not everything is delivered to us on a sliver platter. That's a compliment for sure.

I’m reading my way through all of the Amazon original short stories. Some are definitely better than others, but I quite liked this one! Autumn was a little frustrating at first, but clearly she was going through some stuff. It’s hard to really get to know a character in such a short timeframe but I enjoyed her arc and was satisfied with the (happy) ending. A quick 30 minute read!

‘The Days Before Us’ is such a fitting title for this short story because it really shows the way that things like unresolved trauma or experiences in your past can find a way to bubble up to the surface, and possibly effect your present. It follows Autumn who is a scientist and is going through a rough patch in her marriage with her husband Jack. He’s coming in later from work, not sleeping in bed with her, and she’s not sure they’ll find their way back to one another. One morning while out at work she feels nauseous, lightheaded and not like herself and so she takes a pregnancy test reveling that she is indeed expecting. Not wanting Jack to miss out on a project at work he’s put a lot of effort into she decides not to tell him. She also realizes she needs to figure out how she can be the best mother for her child and that starts with facing a broken relationship with her mother who suffered throughout her childhood with alcoholism.

Autumn is a very relatable character, I feel like people who have struggled with a parents bad parenting can see a lot of themselves in her. She faced the end of her youth very early on by becoming the parent to her mother once her father abandoned their family for another woman. Always having to be responsible, or understanding, and never having the chance to be taken care of - it reflects in how she’s determined to not repeat her parents mistakes. We learn that her mother has been sending her letters for years but Shelby has left them all tucked away and unopened not at all interested in reconciliation. Which I think is extremely understandable but also makes her seem a lot more fleshed out.
The themes of motherhood, abandonment, and growth are somehow all packed into this short novel and are all just as equally important, fleshed out and in one way or the other compliment one another. Never at any point does Autumn not want to be a mother, she is overcome with surprise and happiness when she finds out that she’s pregnant but we can see how the effects of her childhood and the way her mother treated her also causes immense fear to fester too. During her childhood, her mother would constantly lose jobs, drink all their money away leaving no money for groceries and Autumn hungry. I found it very interesting that all though its obvious that Autumn resents her mother for her childhood, her father is hardly mentioned besides when we learn that he left her mother for another woman and that when he abandoned the family, her mother abandoned her too. I wish we would have learned more about her present day relationship with her father, and how if that at all has impacted her relationship with her mother as well. We do see how the abandonment of her father is something that plays a big role in why she’s so scared of Jack leaving her and fear that he may not want to work things out. Though the novel is very very short we do get to see a little of Autumn’s character growth and even hear from Jack that she’s worked for a long time to be who she is today.

The writing of this book though very beautiful and straight forward did at times feel a little too flowery for me or like the author may have been trying too hard to make it sound nice. At times it felt overcrowded with detail and they weren’t ones that I think at all added to the plot which did cause me to feel like I was dragging my feet a little just to read the next page. There is also a lot of references/symbolism relating to bodies of water and the void of the ocean which at first was okay, but then it felt like a lot of telling and not showing and I do wish the author would have let readers come to conclusions or interpret it the way we’d want to instead of basically explaining right after what she meant. However the imagery of this book is beautiful with sentences like “sun-kissed blond hair falling past his forehead”, streaks of sun bounce off the waters surface, creating ripples of light” was absolutely beautiful and so hard to not invasion as I read.

Overall this book was a quick, easy, and powerful read that has made me interested in the rest of this unique series. Also worth mentioning the covers in the whole collection are absolutely gorgeous. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This short story certainly packed a punch. This beautifully written story explores healing and to a certain extent, forgiveness.

After finding out that she is pregnant, Autumn finds a sense of closure from her troubled past by meeting her estranged mother. She realises that she needs to move on from the past, not only for herself, but for her marriage and baby as well.

This is the first time that I've read anything by Sejal Badani. Her writing is impressive and I will most definitely be reading her previous works of fiction soon.

The Days Before Us by Sejal Badani is a moving and thought-provoking short story about Autumn struggling to come to terms with her traumatic past as she navigates the complexities of unexpected motherhood. From the beginning, Badani's use of water as a symbol is powerful and poignant, providing a sense of calmness and solace during Autumn's emotional turmoil.

The character of Autumn is well-developed and relatable, and readers will find themselves rooting for her as she struggles to overcome her past and create a better future for herself and her unborn child. Callista, Autumn's best friend, is also a standout character, providing much-needed support and comfort throughout the story.

While Jack, Autumn's husband, is not as fully fleshed-out as the other characters, he serves an essential role in the story, and his presence adds a layer of complexity to Autumn's struggles.

Overall, The Days Before Us is a beautifully written and emotionally powerful novel that will resonate with readers personally. Badani's skillful writing, complex characters, and poignant use of symbolism make this book a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled to come to terms with their past and build a better future. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC review copy.

The Days Before Us is a short story in the Good Intentions collection. Marine researcher Autumn wonders if her marriage will survive: six months of bickering that she knows is hurting Jack. How much more will he endure?

Then, just as he’s stepping away, two blue lines on a stick push her to confront what has been festering for all of her adult life: her estrangement from her mother, letters ignored despite Jack’s urging. Because now, without any decent example, she has to become a mother herself.

A very quick and heart-warming read that somehow manages to include gorgeous prose like: “Fragments from her past and their energy shadow every step she takes. An eternal present that refuses her entry into a future. When clay becomes hardened from the fire, the only way to remold it is to break the original structure. But Autumn fears if she does so, she won’t be strong enough to put all the pieces of herself back together for her child.”
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.

A heartwarming and beautifully written story that explores the topic of motherhood. The story is straightforward and potrayed meaningful messages regarding self-reflections, healing yourself, healing relationships and overall getting your life together.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

beautiful short story about learning to understand and love oneself and learning to understand what wanting love and understand from others is good but depending on it or trying to withhold in a almost desperate try to not get hurt isn’t just about what other people to but also hat you are willing to accept.

for a short story this packed in a lot in the best ways!

and for being about the deeply emotional topic of finding yourself with/despite of others, this story was overall pretty easy to read and keeps the tone surprisingly light without making it seem as if what was happening isn’t important.

this was very well written and i loved it and will defiantly look for more from this author!


if you want a short story that grips you and gives you all the emotions without necessarily making you cry -even thought there is a high potential for that here as well if you are someone that get emotionally invested- and something that you remember and keep thinking about?
give this a read!

I am a HUGE fan of Badani's previous novels, Trail of Broken Wings & The Storyteller's Secret. I LOVE how real the emotion is behind every character's words throughout the entire story. In this particular short story, I connect w/ the MC, Autumn, who is the daughter of an alcoholic. I am her and the author hits the complications of that relationship right on the head.

Autumn is on the cusp of something new—if only she can move on from the past. This is part of an Amazon Originals series of short stories on motherhood, and it's worth looking up the rest of the series for the covers alone. (This one in particular reminds me of some of my favorite street art—paste-ups that make you wonder where the woman on the wall comes from and what her story is.)

I don't want to say too much about the plot here (in a short story, there's only so much plot you can share before it's all spoilers), but Autumn's concept of herself as a mother is a new and fragile thing here, and there's a limited amount that we're able to learn about her husband and mother. I'd be curious to see where this would go if developed into a novella or even something longer.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Sejal Badani's short story The Days Before Us is a poignant, beautifully written look at motherhood. Autumn is struggling to make her marriage work because she has never come to terms with her parents' failed relationship and their abandonment of her; her father left and her mother turned to alcohol to dull her pain. Autumn has always relied on herself alone until she discovers that she's pregnant. Her realization that she can build a better life for her own child with forgiveness and love is Autumn's first step toward healing.