An emotionally charged drama that wades deeply through the waters of mental illness.
Everyone has their demons to contend with, and for Neviah, taking on those demons has become her career. Not a therapist in the most traditional sense, Neviah uses her unusual ability to hack into the Other Side, a place where memories melt into living dreams and nightmares. On the peaceful ranch she owns with her husband, Neviah is able to help clients work through traumas and other mental health crises as a spiritual coach and a kind of supernatural tour guide. Through uncanny intervention, clients are ushered into the Other Side with the hope of sorting through unresolved issues. But these trips do not come without risk. In the dark shadows lurk all the dangers you can imagine, and once you’ve reached the Other Side, it can be difficult to keep a hold on what is real and what is not. While Neviah is working through client problems and her own early life traumas, a little boy knocks on her door, unlocking an old chapter of painful memories and well-worn regrets. A woman and her young son are in danger and Neviah may be their only hope, but in order to help them, she may have to risk her own safety, sanity, and survival.
Supernatural elements and spooky situations lay the foundation of an emotionally charged drama that wades deeply through the waters of mental illness. Neviah’s character has a tumultuous arc, but her experiences at all stages of her journey will resonate with readers. Her relationships become increasingly complicated and acrimonious as she processes many ways to manifest her own frustration, stress, and grief. There is an ominousness that permeates the pages, particularly early in part one of the story, as we begin to explore Neviah’s connection to a realm unseen by most. Here, Kodie Van Dusen explores new ground, building the Other Side and revealing it to audiences in a way that is dark and foreboding, yet inexplicably inviting at the same time. Creepiness is next level in this imaginative supernatural drama that bears the surprisingly weighty and relevant theme of mental health issues and their long-term effects on both patients and loved ones. If you’re looking for a paranormal novel that is darkly detailed, exquisitely expressed and spiritually charged, Birds in the Black Water is an engrossing read that provides just enough light at the end of the tunnel to make you want to read it again.
