Perfectly Undone

Finished May 15

Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree

Set in Portland, Oregon, this is a story of self-awareness and dealing with trauma from the past. The main character, Dylan Michels has worked hard to get where she is, a ob/gyn doctor at the Women's Clinic. She has a deep desire to do research in the area of early detection of pregnancy issues, like ectopic pregnancies. Her older sister Abby died from an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy when she was a teen, and this is a big part of what drives her. 

Dylan lives with her partner Cooper, a pediatrician, and they had long planned to marry. As the book opens, Cooper is proposing, but Dylan finds herself unable to commit. As the two go through weeks of bad communication, it becomes clear that there is a secret about Dylan and her sister that lie at the heart of Dylan's inability to choose happiness. 

I found Dylan interesting. In the scenes in the clinic and hospital, it is clear that she is respected by her fellow doctors and the other staff. She is a good doctor, focused on her patients and their concerns. Her buried trauma around her sister has led her to where she is, but also left her unable to move on. 

None of the other characters here have the depth of Dylan. Whether it is Cooper, the nurse Enrique, Dylan's boss Vanessa, patients like Erika, or her friend Megan, we don't see enough of them to get a real sense of them as people. 

There is an interesting plotline of the landscaping that Cooper has given Dylan as a gift. As the landscape architect Reese creates the garden from Dylan's short burst of input, we see how it relates to Dylan as well.