The Book of Two Ways is Jodi Picoult’s 27th book (Ballantine Books, 2020). Although often dismissed as an author of “chick lit,” Picoult has made a career of writing fiction that probes moral issues, and many of her books have debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. This novel, a #1 New York Times bestseller, was named Best Book of September 2020 by Amazon and one of the best books of the year by Marie Claire. Picoult published her first book, Nineteen Minutes, in 2007, and since then, more than 40 million copies of her books have been printed in 34 languages.

This study guide refers to the eBook edition, published in 2020 by Ballantine Books.

Plot Summary

The Book of Two Ways is the story of Dawn Edelstein, who journeys into her past in order to determine her future. The story follows Dawn as she travels from Boston to Egypt to rediscover her past life and love. The novel is split into two narrative threads—one that follows Dawn’s life in Boston, with her husband and daughter, and another in which she travels to Egypt to revisit her past. Although the two narratives appear to be operating simultaneously, toward the end of the novel it becomes clear that the Egypt narrative is happening after the Boston narrative. In the penultimate chapter, the story comes back together to move forward as one narrative.

In the first chapters, “Water/Boston,” Dawn and her husband, Brian, have been arguing. Dawn very nearly leaves him—she is on her way to the airport when her daughter texts her, causing her to return home. Dawn and Brian have been having marital difficulties; Brian’s doctoral student is interested in him, and Dawn is jealous and mistrustful. She thinks that Brian may have wanted to cheat, which troubles her. Dawn’s relationship with her daughter, Meret, is also strained—Meret is dealing with body image issues and bullying, and Dawn has difficulty providing the support she needs.

In her profession as a death doula, or one who supports clients through the process of dying, Dawn meets with a new client, Win Morse. Win shares the same birthday as Dawn, and is dying of ovarian cancer. She and Dawn get along well, and Win, an artist, discovers Dawn’s expertise in Egyptology. As her relationship with Win continues, Dawn gradually opens up about her past, remembering the passion she had felt for Egyptology and for her first love, Wyatt, a fellow student. Dawn had left Egypt and Wyatt 15 years ago, when her mother told her she had cancer. She had never returned, or contacted Wyatt, in the time since. Lately, however, she has been thinking more and more about what she left behind.

Dawn and Brian met when she returned from Egypt, after her mother’s diagnosis. They got to know each other at the hospice where her mother and his grandmother were staying. After her mother died, Brian supported Dawn as she dealt with debt and settled into her new life as her young brother’s guardian. After the hospice director commented on her skill with the dying, Dawn got a job at the hospice, which eventually led to her career as a death doula. When she found out she was pregnant, she and Brian moved in together, Dawn withdrew from her doctoral studies at Yale, and they got married. That was 15 years ago.

As Win’s health deteriorates, she asks Dawn to deliver a letter to a man in London, the love of Win’s life. Dawn agrees and is preparing to go to London when Meret receives the results of a DNA test that Brian had given her for her birthday. It reveals that Meret is nearly 100% British, even though Brian’s family has Polish ancestry. Dawn realizes that Meret is Wyatt’s daughter.

While Brian comforts Meret, Dawn leaves for London to deliver Win’s letter, but once in London, Dawn cannot complete her mission. She sees the man with his family, and cannot find it in herself to destroy their happiness. At the airport, instead of returning home, Dawn books a flight to Cairo. This is the point where the narrative splits. The chapters titled Land/Egypt, which are woven alongside the Boston chapters, begin.

Dawn arrives in Cairo and makes her way to the dig site where she had worked as a student. Wyatt is the director of the dig now, and though he is surprised to see her after her disappearance 15 years ago, he offers her a job working on the dig. Dawn uses her skills as an illustrator to work alongside Wyatt, and in the process, rediscovers what she loves about the work.

Wyatt has finally discovered a tomb that they had found reference to when they were students. Dawn remembers the way their relationship developed, first as competition, then collaboration, and eventually, love. She is able to help with the tomb excavation and is one of the first people to examine it, bringing her studies full circle. During the trip, she remembers her love for Egyptology and her passion for Wyatt. Although he is engaged and she is married, they sleep together and recommit to their love. Wyatt continually presses Dawn to tell him why she never came back or contacted him. When Dawn finally tells Wyatt about his daughter, Meret, he asks to meet her. They decide to fly to Boston together immediately.

On the way to Boston, Dawn and Wyatt are in a plane crash. This scene was referenced in the Prologue, but now it is clear that Wyatt is on the plane with her. After the crash, they find each other in a fire before Dawn loses consciousness. When she wakes up, she is in the hospital recovering from brain surgery. Brian is at her bedside, and she introduces him to Wyatt. Brian leaves to go home and take care of Meret, and a few days later, after Dawn is released from the hospital, she and Wyatt follow. Wyatt meets Meret, and though it is awkward at first, they discover common interests. At the end of the novel, Dawn does not know what the future will hold, or what her family will look like, but she, Wyatt, and Brian are all committed to being a part of Meret’s life.