What if you met your twenty-three-year-old self in a dream? What would you say?
Brock Matthews’ once promising life is unraveling. His coffee company. His marriage.
So when he discovers his vivid dreams—where he encounters his younger self—might let him change his past mistakes, he jumps at the chance. The results are astonishing, but also disturbing.
Because getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn’t know how to let go . . . and his greatest fear is that it’s already too late.
Fans of Back to the Future will love The Five Times I Met Myself. The similarity between the main characters is uncanny, but it totally works for me – Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies! Unlike the ’80s classic, however, Brock isn’t trying only to have a good time. He’s trying to improve his life for the better in some really deep ways. Perhaps it’s really more like a cross between Back to the Future and It’s a Wonderful Life. Brock needs to learn what’s really important in life, and he realizes that he’s had his priorities out of whack for years.
The Five Times I Met Myself does get a little confusing near the end. As Brock’s trips to the past keep rearranging his present, it gets a bit tricky to keep track of what’s happening in which timeline, but that only adds to the suspense. I loved trying to figure out what would happen next – and what Brock’s ultimate ending would be. I never did figure it out, although when it came I felt that I should have known all along.
Brock seemed like a genuinely good guy. I can understand his confusion when trouble first came his way. His life wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as abundant as it could’ve been. Since Jesus clearly tells us that He has an abundant life planned for each of us, The Five Times I Met Myself is the perfect story to help the reader recognize the best.
That lesson resonates with me. It’s far too easy to set your sights on the wrong goal. It’s even easier to do so for what you think are the right reasons. This book reminds us of what is really important, though, and it’s a lesson that many of us still need to learn.
Whether you like the time travel vehicle or not, there are a lot of interesting people in this story. Many different scenarios emerge, and it’s interesting to see how Brock reacts to them all. If you do enjoy time travel, however, The Five Times I Met Myself is definitely a book that should reside on your bookshelf.
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James L. Rubart is a professional marketer and speaker. He is the author of the best-selling novel Rooms as well as Book of Days, The Chair, Soul’s Gate, Memory’s Door, and Spirit Bridge. He lives with his wife and sons in the Pacific Northwest.
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I received a free copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
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