Tale of a woman who is hit by a bus and ends up in a coma. An interesting technique of using her coma state to describe her thoughts as she delves into memories, aided by people who have died, while also being able to hear but not participate at all, in the interactions of family and friends gathered around her bed. The journey each person takes to ultimately realise that they all love and need each other or that they need to make changes to the way they live. ( )

The Inbetween Days by Eva Woods is a poignant yet ultimately uplifting novel of healing.

The Cooke family rushes to the hospital after learning Rosie has been struck by a bus and is now in a coma. Sister Daisy and mum Alison are wracked with guilt since they have not spoken to Rosie since she caused a scene at Daisy's engagement party. Rosie has been estranged from her father, Mike, but he never hesitates to stay by his daughter's bedside.The doctors have informed her family the next three days are critical for Rosie's future.

As Daisy searches for the truth about the circumstances of her sister's accident, Rosie revisits painful yet pivotal moments in her life. She is guided by a cast of ghostly people who urge her to work out the meaning of these memories so she can wake up from her coma before the three day recovery window closes. Will Daisy gain a deeper understanding of her own life as she gains a better understanding of her sister's? Can Rosie figure out why she is seeing a seemingly random selection of memories from her past?

Rosie is aware of what is going on around her as she frantically tries to force herself to wake up from her coma. When her first "visitor" escorts her back to her past, she does not understand the why she is returning to these painful memories. With each subsequent trip down memory lane, Rosie grows more and more distraught as she sees what a mess she has made of her friendships and relationships with loved ones. Fully realizing her ghostly guides are figments of her imagination, Rosie nonetheless begins to understand what she stands to lose if she does not emerge from her coma at the end of the three crucial days in her recovery.

The Cooke family has been unhappy for a good number of years but they all deal with their issues in different ways. Rosie speaks her mind and this has lead to a breakdown in her relationships with her mother, sister and father. Her personal and professional lives are a bit of a muddle and Daisy is greatly saddened by what she finds as she tries to make sense of what happened the day of the accident. As Daisy uncovers the somewhat sad truth about Rosie, she begins to rethink her own decisions. But will Daisy find the courage to take the steps she needs to find happiness? And will she find the courage to confront her parents about their role in their family's dysfunction?

The Inbetween Days is an emotional and thought-provoking novel that is quite captivating. Rosie is an extremely sympathetic character and readers will root for her as she traverses her unhappy past in hopes of discerning why she made so many disastrous choices. Daisy is desperate to understand her sister and in doing so, she must face the truth about her own choices. Eva Woods will keep readers on the edge of their seats as she brings this riveting novel to a heartfelt and gratifying conclusion. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this deeply affecting story. ( )