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.

Themes

Living With Death

Dawn, the protagonist of The Book of Two Ways, is a death doula and former Egyptologist. Since the death of her dog when she was a child, Dawn has been interested in death, and her work reflects a continuing exploration of the topic. Picoult addresses death from a variety of angles. She uses Dawn’s personal and professional experience to probe societal attitudes about dying, and to explore what it means to have a good death.

After her mother’s death, Dawn realized that “death is scary and confusing and painful, and facing it alone shouldn’t be the norm” (50). This attitude led to her work as a death doula. Dawn notices how people react when they learn her profession: “Tell someone you work with the dying, and you are suddenly a saint” (202). In contrast, her own attitude toward her profession is much more down-to-earth: “Just because I get close to something that makes a lot of people uncomfortable doesn’t mean I’m special. It just means I am willing to get close to the things that make people uncomfortable” (202).

Picoult uses Dawn’s clear and pragmatic attitude toward death to highlight, by contrast, society’s attitudes toward it.

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