The Poppy Fields explores a way to cope with grief, a very sensitive subject. Everyone deals with grief differently. If given the option would you go to sleep for a month with the hope when you wake your grief will no longer be all consuming?

I love how we get to see the different perspectives of four different people as they make their way to the poppy filed. They are all on their way for different reasons and have very different opinions on the clinical trial. It is great to see how they are each dealing with grief and how their views change on their journey.

Cracked my heart wide open!

Would you choose to sleep away your grief if it meant forgetting the depth of the love that caused it? Is the pain of heartbreak worth enduring the chance of losing the love you felt? The Poppy Fields doesn’t offer easy answers—but it gives you a story full of characters so vivid and lovable, they make you want to hold your people a little tighter. This book will stick with me for a long time.

Sigh. Nikki Erlick is such a gifted storyteller. Once again, she builds a world that lingers long after the final page—one that challenges how we think about love, loss, memory, and healing. Her character work is immersive and emotionally rich, making every chapter feel like a quiet revelation.

I was lucky enough to receive both the ALC and ARC and they were both amazing. There are multiple POVs and but it was all mostly one narrator for the story. The narrator was so easy to listen to and really kept me engaged and wanting to come back for more. The author really knows how to write to get your brain and emotions moving. The way she connects the characters together is one of my favorite things. Everything flows together so well but it also gets you thinking. I loved the grief storyline and how it focused on how everyone grieves differently and for different things. If you could sleep for a month or two and no longer feel has heart stricken...would you? What if 1 in 4 people who sleep get a side effect where they no longer feel any emotion towards the person they were grieving....would you still do it? The Poppy Fields were such an interesting scientific concept and I enjoyed getting to know more about that process and the whys behind it. I can not wait to read what she writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Four strangers (and a small dog named PJ) come together in the Kansas City airport during a tornado which renders all the flights canceled. And so begins their shared road trip in a rental car nicknamed “ the canary”. As they travel together they discover that for 3 of them, their destination is not simply California, but a specific place in California: The Poppy Fields. The Poppy Fields is an experimental treatment clinic that allows the grieving to sleep for one or two months and when awakened, their grief has become manageable. Sadly a small minority may suffer an unhappy side effect (lack of emotional feeling)…. “Love and loss, joy and pain are two sides of the same coin. How could we ever banish one without endangering the other? Love changes us, dents us, lifts us, guides us. If we sleep, if we suffer the side effect, if we are no longer shaped by the people we love…who are we?”

I found this novel to be a relatable, thoughtful, and moving treatise on death, grief and memory. Who among us hasn’t wished for sleep to numb our pain as we hope for dreams where our dead visit? I enjoyed The Poppy Fields much more than Erlick’s first novel “The Measure.”

Who wouldn’t want to cure a broken heart. The Poppy Fields seem like a place anyone would want to go to. After a prolonged period of sleep, you will be healed. Four strangers and a dog decide to make a trip to the Poppy Fields. Everyone is on a path of grief and healing. Is it possible to heal from loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?

“Poppies are a ruderal species, which means that they grow from the rubble. If something so spectacular can still blossom in even the most disturbed earth, then doesn’t that mean there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal?”

What about a beautifully written story! I enjoyed all the characters and their stories. I really enjoyed this book! Grief isn’t easy, that’s for sure. It’s a long healing journey. But it’s a journey we aren’t on alone.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Nikki and William Marrow for the ALC!

Publication Date: June 17 2025
Rating:🌸🌸🌸🌸


#ThePoppyFieldsDeluxeLimitedEdition #NetGalley

I requested the ARC of this book because I thoroughly enjoyed her first novel, The Measure, and the way it made me think, reflect, and consider. I was also excited for the audio version because it had multiple narrators. The storyline was interesting, and the writing flowed smoothly. The pace meandered along, which felt appropriate for the topic and the road-trip vibe. I enjoyed getting to know the characters along the way and learning each of their perspectives on the topic of processing grief. The narrators of the audio version did an excellent job, but rather than a "full cast" feel, it seemed to me it was mostly one narrator with a chapter here and there read by a different person.

If you could sleep away the pain and grief of loss, would you? The Poppy Fields offers a unique opportunity to those suffering from a great loss to heal from their tragedy, but is it worth the potential risk? Following a ragtag group of pilgrims seeking healing and answers, the Poppy Fields makes the reader wonder if the risk is worth the rewards.

Absolutely beautiful. A must read for anyone who has experienced loss. As someone who has experienced tremendous loss—multiple deaths of close loved ones, divorce, job loss—this book hit hard.

If you haven’t been through something similar, the premise might sound bizarre: a speculative fiction novel about a treatment center where people sleep for two months to be healed from grief. Weird, right? But if you have known deep loss, then you get it. You understand why someone would do anything to escape the pain, the numbness, the sheer exhaustion of simply existing.

The story follows four strangers, each seeking their own version of healing at the Poppy Fields. Their journeys are beautifully written, unfolding in a way that reminded me of a Fredrik Backman novel—layered, introspective, full of small but profound truths.

I couldn’t stop listening. The narration was superb. Highly recommend.

Not what I was expecting, but good nonetheless. This road trip novel with sci-fi elements explores grief and the role of medical and technological interventions in coping with it. This story would make for a great book club discussion.

Three strangers embark on a road trip to the Poppy Fields after their flight was cancelled. Ray, a firefighter who is morning the loss of his brother Johnny wants answers. Sasha, who is mourning the loss of her fiancee wants to know why her application has been denied. And Ava, who is looking for her sister that she hasn't spoken to in three years. The Poppy Fields is located in the deserts of California and is the first of its kind that helps people deal with their grief in an unconditional way. Patients that are seclected to participate at the Poppy Fields will be put in a deep sleep and when they wake up their pain of losing a loved one is gone. This was a good book and while I still haven't read the Measure (still on my TBR list) I'm sure that anyone will love this book. The concept of the Poppy Fields is so strange that I can see something like this happening one day. I would like to thank both NetGalley and HarperAudio for letting me listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I was really looking forward to this book but also a bit nervous that it wouldn’t live up to The Measure (my all-time favorite). The Poppy Fields absolutely delivered! It was beautifully written, with multiple POVs and fantastic character development. I don’t usually reread books, but this is one I could dive right back into the moment I finished. I listened to the audiobook which was wonderfully done.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this incredible digital review in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The narrator of this is one of my favorites. The way she tells a story is unmatched. I really enjoyed this book. I loved The Measure and was so excited to read The Poppy Fields early! I thought this book was deep and reflective. It was a really interesting premise!