The Other Life by Ellen Meister

What if you had a chance to experience life on the “road not taken”? In Ellen Meister’s novel, The Other Life, Quinn Braverman, pregnant housewife and mother of six year old Isaac, has the unique ability to do just that. In Quinn’s other life she is childless and living a fast pace life in a luxury Manhattan apartment with her semi-famous, live-in boyfriend Eugene. Crossing over through a “portal” between her two lives, Quinn does not have to imagine if the grass is greener on the other side, she is able to live her parallel life and see for herself.

At first Quinn visits her single life out of curiosity. However, as Quinn’s family life with her husband Lewis gets more stressful, it pushes her to a breaking point. Maybe leaving suburbia behind and staying in her other life, at least for awhile, would not be such a bad idea. Parting with her children would be excruciating, but her single life with Eugene had one very important thing for Quinn – her mother was alive in that life. She desperately needs to have more time with her mother, but Quinn soon discovers that she can’t continue to straddle both lives. The portal is closing and she has to choose one path and leave the other life forever.

Quinn’s ability to cross over into her other life, had she made different choices, is the kind of thing explored in countless sci-fi books, films and television shows. However, the author uses a more emotional vehicle, especially for women, to highlight the significance of the premise. It’s not just a choice between Eugene and Lewis or the single life verses the married family life. It’s maternal – your mother or your child. Some women may view this as an easy choice, but for Quinn, who had not yet healed from her mother’s suicide, having the chance to spend time with her mother again was priceless.

While the book is an interesting read, there is a missing element to this story. The “why?” There is fuzziness as to why Quinn, and her mother before her, has this ability. In the back story, the author makes a small attempt to explain, but it only brings to mind more questions. The story is also a little confusing as to how many parallel lives are out there for Quinn. Besides the main two, there was at least one more life path which ended abruptly and tragically. Perhaps it would have been best to ignore the back story all together. Sometimes, like in the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, “the why” is not the story and so it is simply ignored.

Overall, The Other Life, is well written, easy to read and relatable to every one of us that has ever wondered about the “what ifs.” In the end, Quinn Braverman makes her choice and must learn to face life as it comes, just like everyone else.