The Great Awakening takes readers inside a version of Earth where nearly everyone awakens in a near-death-like dream, returning to life remade by spiritual certainty. What did you want readers to feel during the early chapters, when the awakening seems overwhelmingly positive?

Through Raymond, I wanted readers to experience the awakening as he did. To feel the same sense of warmth, belonging, and hope that completely reshapes his view of the world. As the scope of the awakening expands, I wanted them to imagine how that kind of transformation might ripple through society, changing not just individuals but humanity as a whole. Most importantly, I wanted readers to embrace the awakening rather than question it. If they genuinely believe they’ve found paradise, then when the other side of the coin is finally revealed, the emotional and moral impact is far more powerful.

What questions about consciousness most fascinate you?

Consciousness is an almost bottomless rabbit hole. Beyond the unanswerable question of why consciousness exists at all, I’m fascinated that we don’t even understand how it exists. Sam Harris often points out that, based solely on our conscious experience, we’re not even aware that we have a brain. Everything we know about the physical machinery behind consciousness comes from observation and science, not from experience itself. If we ever begin to understand consciousness, perhaps we can tackle the next question: whether we truly have free will. Neuroscience increasingly suggests we may not, yet our lived experience makes that conclusion feel almost impossible to accept. And if free will is an illusion, what does that mean for fairness, responsibility, and justice? That’s a rabbit hole I don’t think has a bottom.

What conversations do you hope readers have after finishing the book?

I hope readers continue thinking about the book after they turn the final page. If humanity could truly eliminate greed, jealousy, hatred, and suffering, would we actually be better off? If so, does it matter how that transformation came about? Would it have to arise organically, or would an engineered version be just as meaningful? Those aren’t questions I wrote the book to answer. They’re questions I wrote to explore, and I hope readers find themselves exploring them as well.

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