Ilana has an enviable job at the opera house, a committed relationship, and a cozy Greenwich Village apartment, but the questions inside of her are growing insistent. Is it due to her scientist boyfriend’s research on how people make their decisions, or is she suffering suppressed grief from the death of her mother? Adopted as an infant, she becomes curious about who she would be if she’d grown up in her birth home. Is she truly who she thinks she is? Has she ever freely chosen anything at all? When Ilana learns that her birth mom owns a pub upstate, well, what harm could there be dropping in furtively for a drink? To see, just to see. What begins as curiosity about her choices evolves into a traumatic shift in her world. She loses control of her life. And then, chaos. 

This is a novel about unconscious decision-making and the illusion of free will.

Published by Koehler Books, in print October 2024.

Does your mind wander? Where does it go without you?

Lost In Thought

“This book is about a character navigating matters of self-control and real choices it is an interesting hybrid -- a cross between sheer storytelling and storytelling where the impact of a scientific idea is profound and underlies the entire work. It is gripping." 

- Patricia S. Churchland, Author, MacArthur genius grant recipient, Professor, Neuro-philosopher