Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Six Gifts: Secrets*
One Woman’s Journey of Self-Discovery
We first meet three-year-old Olivia when she is being pulled from a pool after nearly drowning. She experiences white light and peace. The story flash-forwards to when Olivia’s in her 50s. Her marriage of 30 years is flat (and even slightly aggressive, with some swearing), and she is experiencing ill health due to chemical poisoning. When she finds out that her high school boyfriend has been killed in a car accident, she decides to drive back home for his funeral. While there, she experiences vivid dreams, reconnects with people in her past, and through a variety of means, gains more clarity of life.
The book weaves between the past and the present. Unfortunately, in the present sections, there are a lot of info dumps, first about her marriage and then about other parts of her past. I found these sections tedious to read. I appreciate that characters often have a huge back story, but I think such as better delivered in small drips and drops as the reader needs to know. The author does do a good job of setting place in Vermont and Colorado.
Negatives aside, I found this an interesting read depicting one woman’s journey to understand herself, both her past and where she wants to move to in the future.
