by Ken Grimwood
First published 1976
Elizabeth Austin lies on the operating table as surgeons place tiny electrodes deep in her brain. The experimental procedure promises to end her epileptic seizures forever. She agrees to additional implants in unexplored brain regions for research purposes. The surgery works. Her seizures stop. She can rebuild her failing marriage and return to her career. Then doctors activate one of the research electrodes. Elizabeth experiences vivid sensations that feel like memories but belong to someone else entirely. These foreign recollections grow stronger with each stimulation. She remembers places she has never visited and people she has never met. The memories feel completely real yet impossibly distant. Elizabeth must discover whether the electrodes have unlocked hidden areas of her own mind or opened a door to experiences beyond her single lifetime. Her cure becomes a mystery that challenges everything she believes about consciousness and identity.
Genres: science-fiction, medical, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: medical-trauma, unreliable-narrator
233 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: medical-trauma