The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds
Josephine hasn’t been able to move on since her husband’s unexpected death. In a dark moment, the 35-year-old widow wishes she’d never been born. What she soon learns is that, sometimes, Time listens. The stronger the wish, the stronger the possibility of change. When reports of Josephine’s great-grandmother change, she begins noticing pieces of her life disappearing, including jewelry, furniture, and photos. Now instead of escaping the raid on a speakeasy party, she discovers her great-grandmother Alma dies while fleeing the speakeasy. Yet Josephine has a chance to make things right when the door to Alma’s mansion transports her back to 1927. With a key and a few words, she’s able to move back in time. However, she only has a few days to save Alma. If Josephine’s plans to prevent the speakeasy party from happening fails, will she lose the life she’s only just beginning to live?
For so long, Josephine has defined herself through her husband. Then she finds a literal door to the past. While there, the mystique of her great-grandmother’s world, a woman who runs a speakeasy out of her basement, effervescently comes alive. Tensions rise along with each item that disappears from the present day, and it’s easy to sympathize with Josephine. Jennifer Moorman compassionately sifts through the complicated emotions plaguing Josephine, particularly about finding love again and re-defining herself. The 1920s setting is enchanting with fashions that gleam and a speakeasy that scintillates. I found the method of time travel to be a charming connection between places. Can you imagine what it would be like seeing a great-grandparent young and vivacious? Moorman does a great job exploring this experience. This is a sweet tale of a woman lost in a fog of grief whose only hope of finding her future is through the past. Recommended.
