A Thousand Doors

An Anthology of Many Lives

By: J. T. Ellison - editor

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

The day Mia Jensen died, she finally got to live....

What if?

We’ve all played the “what if” game. For Mia Jensen, “what if” is a fact of life. Dissatisfied with her choices, she often dreams about what could have been. Now she has the chance to know. But that knowledge is going to cost her dearly. Only through death can she fully realize the value of her life.

*

Forty-year-old Mia Jensen is home after a terrible day, trying to figure out how she’s come to this point in her life, when she hears a strange noise from the kitchen. She investigates, only to be brutally attacked and left for dead. As she dies, she experiences some of the lives that could have been hers had she only made a different choice.

Can one woman can find peace with the path she’s chosen before it slips through her fingers forever?

*

Through the unique voices of New York Times bestsellers and rising stars in women’s fiction, A Thousand Doors examines how our smallest decisions can create lasting effects, and allows the thought - can we actually change our lives?

Contributors:

Kimberly Belle
Laura Benedict
A.F. Brady
Patti Callahan Henry
Paige Crutcher
Rebecca Drake
Heather Gudenkauf
Joy Jordan-Lake
Alisha M. Klapheke
Ariel Lawhon
Kerry Lonsdale
Catherine McKenzie
Kate Moretti
Lisa Patton
Kaira Rouda

©2018 J.T. Ellison (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Unique format

Loved the short story format. What a unique way to read from different authors. Really enjoyed it!

A Thousand Doors

I finally got to listen to this book and am so glad I did, it really makes you think. The concept of what could be if ...... is the highlight of this whole book and yet they all intermingled. Loved the ending. The narration was excellent.

Enjoyable

As Mia bleeds out on her kitchen floor, the victim of a knife attack, she contemplates her life and the roads not taken that would have led to different outcomes.

If if in the unfortunate position of dying and considering other choices I might have made that would have given me different lives, those other versions would be ideal. JT Ellison and the talented writes she gathered to write A THOUSAND DOORS have Mia experiencing different, imperfect realities. Though most are mystery/thriller writers, the only true suspense I felt was hoping that despite the dire signs, Mia would survive the premeditated murder.

VIOLENT ENDS, my first anthology, spoiled the genre for me with its perfect execution, each chapter building on the previous plot points, different writers narrating various voices. I felt as though I was reading one story. I wanted more, yet the book felt complete.

In A THOUSAND DOORS each writer penned a different Mia on a different path. My Mia, *the* Mia, was JT Ellison’s from the first chapters. While each life choice would have impacted her differently, changed her in subtle ways, I believe basic personality to be inborn, as science suggests. Original Mia is imperfect, but she has values and an inner voice she follows. I didn’t relate to all of the Mias or see any shades of the original in some.

Still, I was glued to A THOUSAND DOORS, though enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Admittedly, I skimmed through a few and reread at least one because I enjoyed it most.

I enjoyed A THOUSAND DOORS and recommend to those who enjoy anthologies and short stories. While I didn’t find the stories suspenseful, I still enjoyed nearly all of them.

Not what I anticipated.

I thought this book would be about a woman who relives different versions of “what could’ve been” — as herself, just in different circumstances. I got about 1/3 in and each story so far just uses her name and some random story of what could’ve been. Her essence of who she is isn’t preserved, it isn’t carried on in each story. It’s just a collection of individual stories, like her passions, personality and even age are different for each version. I understand that’s how it is probably supposed to be, but I thought it was going to be more cohesive and thoughtful.