The Calling: A Philosophical Novel

Andrew Donelan did everything right. He attended the right schools, married the right woman, had a satisfying career and a happy family. So nothing could have prepared him when he woke up one June morning to a hollowed-out world. Instead of his comfortable Manhattan existence he found a world stripped of meaning, color, and interest. In the mirror he saw not a man with hopes and dreams, but a thing among things. Looking inward, he saw nothing at allâno purpose, no goals, and no idea what to do next. By a chance encounter with a radical Czech psychologist he is sent on a mission to restore his sense of purpose. He must descend into the underworld of myth, dreams, and the unconscious to discover the hidden sources of human meaning. He must face harrowing spiritual trials and a terrifying encounter with Death before his life's purpose is restored. The Calling is philosophical novel that asks: is the sense of purpose an illusion that can vanish at any moment? And if it does, can we live with he truth that appears in its place? Can our natural sense of purpose be restored, or must it be deliberately and strenuously reconstructed? To answer these questions, The Calling frames a midlife crisis as a spiritual catastrophe with life or death consequences.