51 pages 1 hour read

Jodi Picoult

The Book of Two Ways

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Background

Social Context: Death Doulas

Throughout The Book of Two Ways, Picoult confronts the topic of death from a variety of perspectives. Her choice to make Dawn’s character a death doula affords many opportunities to probe death—through her relationship with Win, her attitude toward her job, and the way she has come to understand dying all become a part of the narrative, informing the themes of the novel. Dawn has thought deeply about death, and her willingness to “get close to the things that make people uncomfortable” is what makes her profession possible for her (202).

At the time of the novel, the profession of death doula was relatively new, but quickly growing, in the United States. According to the National End-of-Life Alliance (NEDA), in 2022, approximately 1,300 death doulas were registered as members across the United States. In the late 1990s, the term “death doula” was adapted from birth doula, a person who supports a mother during the birth process and a profession that rose to prominence in the United States in the 1980s.

Dawn explains that “Doula is Greek for ‘woman who serves’—and just as birth doulas know that there’s discomfort and pain that can be managed during labor, death doulas do the same at the other end of the life spectrum” (51).

Related Titles

By Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

A Spark of Light

Jodi Picoult

A Spark of Light

Jodi Picoult

Plot Summary

logo

Between the Lines

Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer

Between the Lines

Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer

Study Guide

logo

By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult

By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Handle With Care

Jodi Picoult

Handle With Care

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

House Rules

Jodi Picoult

House Rules

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Leaving Time

Jodi Picoult

Leaving Time

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Study Guide

logo

My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Small Great Things

Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

Plot Summary

logo

The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult

The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Vanishing Acts

Jodi Picoult

Vanishing Acts

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Wish You Were Here

Jodi Picoult

Wish You Were Here

Jodi Picoult