"The Poppy Fields" | Reviewed by Chris Stuckenschneider

Given a choice would you want relief from the pain of losing a loved one? Would you crave freedom from emotional pain even if it might result in a side effect that would numb your feelings for the deceased?

These questions and others are addressed in “The Poppy Fields,” a new novel by Nikki Erlick. The intriguing story contemplates mortality and the void in the hearts of those left behind when death or divorce forces them to reinvent their lives.

Readers meet four travelers, sympathetic characters with connections to the Poppy Fields, “an experimental sleeping treatment center.” It’s a mysterious place in the desert near Los Angeles. No one completely understands what happens there, other than those accepted into the no cost program created two years ago.

When a tornado warning in Kansas City, MO., throws airline schedules into disarray two of the characters meet. Ava is trying to catch a flight to the Poppy Fields. Her sister Emmy founded the project, a balm for the grief stricken. The sisters knew tragedy early on, after their parents died, leaving them in the care of their grandmother. When Granny Mae passes, Emmy is so focused on her career she doesn’t come home. Now Ava is trying to get to the Poppy Fields to track her sister down and reconnect.

  Because of mayhem caused by the tornado warning, Ava rents a car to drive to California. In the process, she meets Sasha, a young, heartbroken woman who was supposed to be on her honeymoon, until tragedy stuck. Now Sasha has been accepted into the Poppy Fields and must get there as quickly as possible. Wanting to share expenses, the women allow a man bound for California to ride with them. Ray is a firefighter headed to the Poppy Fields to unravel the reasons behind the death of his beloved younger brother Ray.

A fourth rider joins the group later. Sky is an 18-year-old girl recently graduated from high school who’s bound and determined to travel, resorting to hitchhiking to see the country. A chance meeting with the three travelers at a taco joint in Albuquerque garners her passage to Sedona, her destination.

As the miles accumulate, rich backstories of the characters are revealed, and bonds of friendship are formed. Growing ever closer, the travelers have no idea that the Poppy Fields is embroiled in controversy over an issue that disheartens Emmy, who founded the center to truly help people. Yet Emmy harbors a secret that might continue to harm others.

“The Poppy Fields” is a good read, well written and thought provoking. There’s much to discuss in this original novel, making it a fine choice for book clubs and a novel to mull over with friends too.

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