The Lucidity Project

The Lucidity Project: a novel  by Abbey Campbell Cook. Berkeley: She Writes Press, 2016. 288 pages *****

Finding no solution to her depression, Max Dorigan decides to kill herself. Waking in the hospital and  embarrassed by her actions, Max downplays the incident and dismisses it as an accident. Confronted with the truth, she agrees to participate in The Lucidity Project, an unconventional rehabilitation program on a remote resort in the Caribbean. Meeting the program director, Dr. Micah McMoneagle, Max feels an immediate dislike which grows into a confusing attraction. Max really believes that she doesn't belong in this program when she discovers that others in her group have psychic powers and can see ghosts. Dr. McMoneagle has found a way to allow people to enter each other's dreams and to help each other face their fears. Max struggles to understand and accept who she really is and what her recurring dream of drowning means in the context of what she is meant to do on this earth.

This is one of those books that when you read it, you must have an open mind and go slowly because there is a lot going on. Cook's writing style is subtle as she pulls you into the story. I found myself trying to predict where she is going (don't bother, you won't be able to figure it out) and admiring the way in which she layered each individual's fears and personal demons. Some reviews have criticized the lack of a clear cut genre, is it fantasy? new age fiction? Some books don't need a label, just a quiet place to enjoy it. I was in no hurry to get to the end and I hope that the author writes  more stories in a similar format it was so unpredictable and fresh in current fiction. Well done!

I received a paperback copy from BookSparks for a review.

Abbey Campbell Cook studied creative writing at UC Berkeley. She now writes (and sometimes sings and dances) about her ongoing quest for spiritual and physical wellness on her blog, Adventures in Woo Woo Land, which often includes pictures of Channing Tatum in his underwear (Ryan Gosling, too, if you're lucky). The Lucidity Project is her first novel.

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