In This Life or Another: A Novel

On the eve of his sixtieth birthday, mechanic Rusty Wilson takes a bullet to save the patrons of a small-town Colorado diner—and awakens to a strange realm between life and death.

However, he finds that this limbo is not the end. There are still choices to be made and a lifetime to review. Paths open for a man who believes the life he did live was one of disappointments, grief, and devastating family estrangements. Given a chance to experience an alternate reality, Rusty is visited by figures from his past and present, sees what could have been if he had pursued a woman he loved from afar, and confronts a family secret that shaped everything. Now it’s Rusty’s choice: accept the imperfect existence he knew, or the what-if that could still be his.

At the heart of this poignant exploration of mortality, memory, and second chances is the profoundly simple question: What makes a life truly meaningful?

© 2026 by Melissa Payne, all rights reserved.