“The Poppy Fields“ follows 4 seemingly isolated people on a journey culminating at a new-age treatment facility called the Poppy Fields, where patients undergo a mysterious sleep. It is run by prodigy researcher Ellis Jones, who holds several secrets of her own. What starts with a tornado warning in the Kansas City airport leads to a cross-country roadtrip to the Fields, where each character has a unique motivation for the trip that is slowly revealed. What follows is an exploration of different types of grief, loss, and relationships.

This book had several meaningful quotes and ultimately a message of hope in the face of great pain. There is no one-size-fits-all cure for grief, but healing starts with being heard and progresses through relationships with others. The idea of a huge facility offering a “cure” for grief was an intriguing premise and definitely made me consider if I’d want to sleep under certain circumstances. I also thought it was interesting exploring different types of grief, such as a surgeon losing the function of his hand, or a person witnessing the death of someone they didn’t personally know.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me in the end. It was chock full of pithy quotes that weren’t as deep as they seemed. While the book relied almost completely on character studies with less action, I still didn’t feel like I got to know the players in a meaningful way. Finally, as a physician, it was hard to accept or condone sleep as the cure for depression - while this story is fictional, I worry it sends the wrong message to people dealing with real loss.

Regardless of its flaws, this book left me thinking about a lot and I know I’ll be reflecting on it for many days to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

dnf at 12%

2 ⭐

15+

(I won't be writing content warning for this book bc I feel like I don't know enough abt it 😭✨)

-OVERVIEW-

This just wasn't for me.

I really wanted to like this, and I was so excited to read it, but I just wasn't absorbed.
This is definitely just a me thing tho, that's why I'm not giving this 1 star.

Maybe I'll find it in me to try this book again sometime in the future? Maybe I'll actually like it?

Who knows?

But until then, this is going onto my dnf shelf and staying there

Never has the phrase “everyone grieves differently” been so true than when reading this book. Erlick has taken the complex and frightening emotion of grief and examined it in a heartfelt and poignant way. As someone who is on a grief journey themself, I found this to be personally touching for me. Grief can feel isolating, an experience she even touches upon in this book, and I felt seen and not so alone after reading this. The plot while original is not overly complex which allows for the deeper themes to shine through and take center stage; the characters’ journeys serve as a scaffolding for the greater story at large.

What if there was a way to sleep for a month or two and wake up having fully processed your grief and loss? The Poppy Fields is an experimental center in the California desert that provides “sleepers” with just that. But at what cost? An unlikely group of travelers, each seeking something different, travels across the American Southwest in search of their own answers at The Poppy Fields.

I rolled my eyes, not going to lie, at the beginning when this book was set up to be a plucky road trip adventure. Four unlikely heroes and a dog—this felt so cliche. But as the story unfolded I realized there was so much more to the story. Each character has had their own journey to lead them to the Poppy Fields, powerful in their own ways. The way the plot twists revealed themselves was intriguing and propelled the story with great pacing.

I think the way grief is explored in this novel is well done and will spark many meaningful discussions among readers. I would highly recommend this for a book club read! I was able to place myself into this story and think about the hard question of whether I would choose to sleep or not, having experienced a deep loss myself.

Bottom line: share this with someone who is grieving, or pick it up if it’s something you need when the time is right. 5/5 for incredible storytelling and representation.

Immense gratitude and thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher, William Morrow Books, for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting concept for a book! The opportunity to sleep away your grief in 4-8 weeks. This book was a very digestible and interesting read. This book will make you stop and reflect. You will be wondering what you would do in this situation. A great second book from Nikki Erlick!

The Poppy Fields is a controversial space where people who have suffered a loss are emotionally healed by undergoing 1-2 months of medically induced sleep. Unfortunately, 1/4 of the sleepers experience a side effect where they no longer feel any emotional connection to the loved one whom they lost. Three travelers - anxious and artistic Ava, a brave firefighter named Ray, and a twentysomething OT named Sasha - are on their way to The Poppy Fields when their airplane is grounded due to a tornado. Even though they are strangers, they decide to drive across the country together rather than wait for another flight. As their trip progresses, their relationships deepen and they uncover the deeper reasons that each of them is making the journey.

I loved The Measure, but this one didn’t quite measure up (no pun intended). It had a lot of the same pieces - a number of characters who find themselves connected, short chapters, and a broad philosophical question to grapple with - but it all just fell short of being engaging. Unlike with the strings in The Measure, I just didn’t quite understand why people would be that bothered by The Poppy Fields and the side effect; it felt like more of a personal decision than a society-altering question that the reader needed to grapple with. And I didn’t find the characters as affecting or appealing as I’d hoped. There was too little action and too many monotonous internal monologues.

Read this if: you want a novel that focuses on grief without getting too deep.

Skip this if: you are expecting something with a premise as interesting as The Measure.

No sophomore slump here - The Poppy Fields is the second remarkable book by Nikki Erlick, whose debut novel, The Measure, was a huge and well-deserved success. In The Poppy Fields, the main topic is grief and how people deal with loss. Ellis has created a method to help those who desperately need relief by putting them into a healing sleep, for a month or two.

A group of strangers whose flight to the facility is thwarted by a tornado decides to drive from Kansas City to the California desert where the Poppy Fields is located. The book is just as much, if not more, about the journey, not just the destination. Along the way, we learn the group members’ stories of loss as they open themselves up to each other and develop strong relationships. There is plenty of humor and hope intertwined throughout as well as some surprising reveals.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and William Morrow/HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

An incredibly beautiful, moving book that came to me at the right time. The Poppy Fields is magical. I adored the writing, the characters, their backgrounds and arcs, the scenery and the interconnection between everyone and everything. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time, maybe forever. I wanted to highlight something in every chapter. The insight, the grief, the living beyond and without, how the people we love never truly leave us... Thank you for this story. I wouldn't change a thing.

Thank you for the ARC. I am indebted.

3.75 STARS

The Measure was my second favorite book of 2022 so The Poppy Fields had a lot to live up to. This book was good. Got a little slow about 60% in then picked up at the end. Thought provoking books are some of my favorites and this one will definitely make you think. Nikki Erlick’s prose is beautiful. She maintains her auto buy author status for me.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for my arc in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant novel that blends history, mystery, and memory into a powerful, moving narrative. With lyrical prose and a deeply empathetic voice, Erlick weaves together past and present in a story about love and loss. The characters are richly drawn and their journeys—both physical and emotional—are compelling from start to finish. This is a book that lingers long after the final page, offering readers both heartache and hope in equal measure. A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this digital e-arc.*

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I was drawn to this book because the concept was very interesting. I had really high hopes and was bummed when I wasn’t connecting with it. I felt bored, lots of parts fell flat, and I was disappointed. Maybe I will try to read this book again at a different time and fingers crossed I have a better time.

To be human is to experience grief at some point, and who hasn’t wished they could just go to sleep and wake up when the heartache has lessened? Erlick imagines that a place where this can happen exists, and as you might imagine, it’s wildly popular, so much so that people must apply for and be approved to participate. There’s just one catch—about 25% of people who opt for the program at Poppy Fields wake up no longer feeling any love for the person they were grieving (they call it emotional moderation). We meet three people traveling to the California facility when a tornado changes their plans: Ava hopes to connect with her sister, Sasha lost her fiancé shortly before they could marry, and Ray’s brother died after his sleep at the facility. Not wishing to wait any longer, the three decide to share a rental car and drive out together, guardedly sharing their stories along the way. Meanwhile, Ellis, the founder of Poppy Fields, grapples with how best to manage Poppy Fields and the “sleepers” under their care. I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely story about choices, sorrow, and recovery.

I loved The Measure, so I was really looking forward to The Poppy Fields. It did not disappoint! Nikki Erlick's writing makes you think about ideas you may not have considered before. What would you do knew how much time you have left? What if you could sleep through the grieving process? Her books are thought-provoking and deeply philosophical, and yet, they're easy to read and difficult to put down.

The Poppy Fields is a treatment center in the California desert where the heartbroken go to sleep through the pain of loss. They wake up healed, having moved through grief and come out the other side feeling at peace. 25% of those who sleep will wake up with the side-effect of no longer remembering the feelings they had for their departed loved ones. Is the sleep worth the risk?

Ava, Sasha, and Ray are three strangers headed for The Poppy Fields. They're thrown together in unusual circumstances, and at one point on their trip they are joined by the free-spirited Sky, forming connections none of them had expected. Their stories and reasons for heading for The Poppy Fields unfold as their journey continues. Their journeys are both physical and emotional, as they face their pain and grief along the way.

This is a though-provoking book on love, loss, healing, and connections, and it will stay with me for a long time.

3.5 rounded to 4

Maybe because Marin Ireland was a narrator, but The Poppy Fields was a Frederik Backman experience for me. (This a a compliment!) The Poppy Fields immersed me in a world similar to this one, but with the possibility of sleeping away the pain of grief. The novel follows travelers seeking a sleep at the Poppy Fields, as well as the inner workings of the running of the institution.

Each character was someone I wanted to hug, different reasons for each person. They were all in pain. Over the course of the novel, we learned more and more about each character and their backstory. Everyone had grief in common.

But that’s not to say the book was serious and droll. There were funny moments too. Each of the narrators brought a different piece of the story to life and their overall performance was impressively fantastic. I had to start over several times because the beginning just wasn’t grabbing me but I think that was more of a me issue than an issue with this audiobook. Overall, it was worth a listen.

'The Poppy Fields' weaves a compelling tale that sits at the intersection of speculative sci-fi and emotionally resonant drama. Nikki Erlick introduces a near-future therapy in which patients are placed in extended, medically induced sleep to reset their emotional state - a bold and haunting premise. As the novel unfolds, we follow several individuals - Ava, Ray, Sasha, Sky, and others - whose lives have been upended by grief. Their journeys converge on a road trip across California, setting the stage for connection, loss, and revelation.

Erlick's greatest strength lies in her character writing. Each voice feels distinct, grounded, and capable of carrying heavy emotional weight. The disparate travelers - struggling to remember lost loves, understand sudden numbness, or reconcile a within-the-heart ache - resonate with authenticity. Their shared travel forces unexpected bonds to form and creates intimate moments that sprout deep empathy in the reader.

The novel's speculative element remains grounded and thoughtful. What begins as a therapeutic promise soon develops moral undercurrents. The risk of waking from the slumber feeling disconnected - like your grief was swept away along with joy and love - adds real stakes. These questions persist well beyond the last page: how much of what makes us human are we willing to breach in the name of healing?

That said, at times the pacing slows as internal monologues build up. A few characters' backstories are only lightly sketched, leaving me wishing for more texture in their arcs - especially Sky. Additionally, some plot threads could have been tighter for greater narrative propulsion.

Yet, when the journey crescendos, the payoff is deeply moving. Erlick skillfully balances the big-picture ethical questions with personal, heartfelt moments - this is a story that lingers emotionally long after reading. The book is perfect for those who enjoy thought-provoking speculative stories filled with layered characters rather than high-octane action (think: The Midnight Library)

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and William Marlow for an advanced copy of The Poppy Fields.

In the California desert lies an experimental facility called The Poppy Fields where you can sleep through your heartache or grief. People are able to do this free of charge after making sure they are a viable candidate. When you wake up you are “healed” from your pain and grief. The only downside is that in some cases people end up having the side effect. Ray, Ava, Sasha, and Sky are four strangers who end up on a journey to The Poppy Fields all for very different reasons. Along the journey they all learn from one another. Will they all get what they are looking for?

This book was so intense and thought provoking. It truly shows that grief, pain, and heartache look different for everyone. I loved the characters and how you learned about their backstories. I really enjoyed the multiple points of view. After I was done with the book I truly just sat and thought about so many things. I highly recommend!

To begin with, I would like to thank the publisher, #WilliamMorrow, and the author, #NikkiErlick, for giving me the opportunity to read this novel, The Poppy Fields, via #netgalley. All opinions following are my own.

This novel asks the question, "If there was a cure for a broken heart or grief, would you take it?"

Poppies. They are known for their somnolent powers. Perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz," is the field of red poppies where all the characters struggle to stay awake.

This is why the fictional facility this book is named after is called "The Poppy Fields." People come from all over the world to sleep away their grief and broken hearts. The owner of this company/experiment is Ellis. While working for another tech company, she became increasingly intrigued by the thought of restorative sleep. She finally left the company to start her own, The Poppy Fields. People experiencing grief and heartbreak apply to come sleep for a month or two with the idea that they wake up feeling like they are no longer drowning in their grief.

This facility is why four people all cross paths at an airport. Ava and her dog PJ are hoping to go and confront her estranged sister at the facility. Ray is looking for answers to avenge his brother's sudden death. Sasha is hoping to convince the facility that she needs to be a patient after her own loss.

When a tornado delays and cancels their flights, a yellow rental car takes them on the trip of their lifetime, where three seemingly different people share their secrets and become friends. Along the way, they also pick up Sky, an eighteen year old wanderlust, who also happened to be the airport, but now is looking for a ride. Perhaps the most unique in their ragtag group, she becomes their glue as they approach their destination.

Will The Poppy Fields provide all the answers they're seeking?

This book was breathtakingly gorgeous. From the moment I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This book drops on June 17. Run. Don't walk to get it!

#BrenBreathesBooks

This books has so much to say about grief and memory. It’s beautifully written and maybe a little repetitive down the stretch but it packs an emotional punch! Highly recommend for readers who enjoy realistic sci-fi with a deep look at love and loss. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

The Poppy Fields is the name of a treatment center where grieving people can go to literally sleep off their grief over a month or two. Everyone wakes no longer feeling despair! Unfortunately, 1/4 of people experience “the side effect” and no longer feel the loving memories from those they’ve lost, either.

This is a story about a handful of travelers on their way to the center, the center’s founder, and several side characters from the story itself and from flashbacks. The relationships between characters may be even more healing than the sleeping treatment. Through these character’s experience, readers are left pondering in which situations might the gamble of the side effect be worth it, and what ripple effects it could have on the rest of one’s life.

This was a slow journey, more about the characters than the plot. The writing was easily digestible, touching but not destructive to my soul (considering the topic I expected a tearjerker instead!). I really cared for these characters and loved the ending.

4.5 stars 🫶

3.5 stars

If you could sleep for a month or two and wake up with your grief cured, would you do it?

That's the central question in The Poppy Fields, where a new specialized treatment center aims to treat severe grief through an induced month-long coma. Similar to Erlick's novel The Measure, we explore this concept through a variety of different characters with different touchpoints with the Poppy Fields center.

While I found the concept really intriguing, something in the execution did not hold up to The Measure for me. I didn't feel as attached to the characters we were reading from the perspective of, and the Poppy Fields itself felt more limited in scope. Erlick continues to be a fantastic writer, and I will definitely pick up future books fromher, this one just wasn't for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a character driven story and I was kind of waiting to see where it was going for a lot of the story. There is a lot of talk about grief, family, and friendship.

Then I had a “aha” moment about connections from this story to a classic movie/book and I just have to applaud the author in her brilliance! It was kind of like an Easter egg hunt after that realization and was quite enjoyable.

3.5 stars rounded up