A pair of newlyweds still in their wedding clothes, a father enslaved to his “utilization rate” at work, a stay-at-home mother in the throws of small babies, a retired couple enjoying an adventure through the country, a young man with his arm in a sling returning from a friend’s funeral, a vibrant flight attendant, and the woman who will soon become known as “the Death Lady,” all wait on the tarmac for takeoff on their flight to Sydney.

What follows next are the predictions of the Death Lady–cause of death, age of death– for each person on the plane and the subsequent spiral of cause and effect, fate and fortune, life and grief.

Here One Moment is my first dive into a Liane Moriarty novel and came recommended by a friend in my yoga class. I chose the audiobook route and was thrilled with the performances, specifically the recurring feeling that I was listening to Chili from Bluey narrate my experience (clearly, I also have small children).

Moriarty structures everything such that the tension remains throughout each vignette. I found myself very interested in the outcome of each character’s trajectory and the way the Death Lady’s predictions impacted them. The characters are robust and reasonable, but the crowning achievement to me was the Death Lady herself.

I will avoid spoilers, but Moriarty has taken a peek behind the curtain of a “woman of a certain age” — a lady, as everyone seemed to agree. The author takes great care to highlight the way this “unremarkable woman in her 70s” was an incredibly remarkable person with a vibrant life full of joy and sorrow, not just behind but ahead of her.

The handling of grief and loss, specifically, and the ways life can surprise and disappoint were oftentimes profound. I cried. Multiple times.

At its heart, Here One Moment seems to ask what you would do with your life if you were, in fact, going to die (you are). Would the knowledge that your time with your loved ones is limited (it is), change the way you treat them?

And, most importantly, what’s stopping you from living now?

This was a 5* read for me. I’ve recommended it to several people in my family and office already! Give this one a shot (and let me know what you think)!