The Lucidity Project

by Abbey Campbell Cook

" The Lucidity Project stirs readers to look at life and their abilities in an exhilarating new way.” ― POPSUGAR Depression has haunted twenty-five-year-old Max Dorigan her entire life. After years of unsuccessful treatment and a failed suicide attempt, Max agrees to join “The Lucidity Project,” a program at a mysterious health and wellness resort in the Caribbean―where, she soon finds, the people are just as troubled as she is, only in a different way. They claim to have psychic powers. They claim they can see ghosts. They claim Max is one of them. Max refuses to pay much attention until Dr. Micah McMoneagle, the charismatic head of the project, reveals he’s found a way to allow people to enter each other’s dreams. Now, instead of discussing their issues in talk therapy, Max and her new gifted friends can symbolically work through their problems on the astral plane. Together they embark on a magical, transformational journey through dreamtime to reveal the causes of the things that are holding them back―an adventure that ultimately awakens them to who they really are, and what they came to earth to do.

296 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2016

Reviews

[Benedicte · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5🌟

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.
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.

Read my review at http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogsp...

[Emma Schindler-Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was disappointing, but the story was unique and captivating. The end was satiating with no noticeable loose ends. Some parts of the book were predictable, but some were great twists. Wellness gurus and yogis will enjoy this book.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Maxine, known as Max, a 25 year old woman who has suffered with depression and migraines for all of her adult life. No medications have worked for her, either causing severe side effects or having no effect at all....

After Max's second suicide attempt and all medical options have been exhausted, she is offered an opportunity to try an "alternative therapy retreat" in the Caribbean known as The Lucidity Project. On arrival at a small island just off the coast of St Lucia, Max begins her last ditch attempt to recover from her chronic depression. The Lucidity Project is home to many strange characters, some are patients, some staff and some possibly just figments of Max's imagination. The story becomes somewhat supernatural and the occurrences on the island require you to really keep an open mind while reading.

The Lucidity Project features Monsters, (lots of) ghosts, levitating, dragons and all sorts of fantastical occurrences. Personally I enjoyed most of these surprise elements, but there was no indication initially that the book would take this kind of direction. It’s hard to explain the context of these supernatural/mythical themes without giving away too much of the plot, but I'd suggest that even if you are not usually a fan of fantasy books, you might still like to give this book a try as it is definitely just a part of the story and this is not a fantasy book per se.

I have to admit that some of the theories presented in the book were VERY far-fetched, but if you are able to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the book for what it is I think you may be able to relish the weirdness. With interesting quirky characters, frequent strange happenings, an unusual concept and fluid writing, I found this book a fairly good read.

If it was not for some of the scenarios being so improbable, I would have rated this book higher as the writing is very good, I look forward to seeing more from this author.

[Debi Stout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Maxine ("Max") Dorigan, a 25 year old woman who has suffered with depression and migraines for all of her adult life. Max hasn't found any medications that have worked for her that haven't either caused severe side effects or having no effect at tackling her issues whatsoever.

After she has exhausted all medical avenues, and after her second suicide attempt, Max is offered the opportunity to go to The Lucidity Project, which is an alternative therapy retreat in the Caribbean. Once she arrives at the small island, Max starts on her journey to recover from her depression.

The storyline of The Lucidity Project then becomes a little weird for my liking. It's part supernatural and possibly figments of Max's imagination. I think you really have to have an open mind to read this story. Some of theories were pretty out of this world and hard to believe/accept and in all honesty, improbable.

This book wasn't the type of book that I usually read, maybe too far fetched for my liking. I'm pretty black and white though, so maybe this book falls into the gray area I just don't grasp. Just because it wasn't for me, I wouldn't say it's not for others though - give it a shot. Most of the books in this summer reading challenge have been amazing, so maybe you'll love this one, who knows?

I received a complimentary paperback copy of this book from the publishers and BookSparks as part of the 2016 Summer Reading Challenge in exchange for this post, which is my honest review and unbiased opinion.

[Joey P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of para-normality. I usually do not like to read the synopsis before reading the book, so I had no idea what I getting myself into when I first started reading this. From the first chapter, I was not so sure about the book. I did not want to read about depression and suicide. These topics are just too sad. Then, I thought maybe it is more like the Inception, where the characters would explore themselves in dreams. However, things got interesting fast: hippies, zombies, ghosts, psychic etc.

Once I got over the fact that anything would appear in this book, I was enjoying it. The adventures were drawing me in to read more. I wanted to know what happened and did not want to stop reading.

To summarize: weird, abnormal, unrealistic, well-written, great character development.

3.5 out of 5 stars
Received free copies from NetGalley and BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2016 in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashli]

Max is on a journey to find out who she really is. She suffers from depression and reaches a low point when she tries to (unsuccessfully) commit suicide. She embarks on a new "alternative" treatment program (The Lucidity Project) that sends her to the Caribbean for help. She discovers that there are other people hurting like she is, but not in a similar fashion. Some of the people that Max meets are other patients, staff and some of them may not even be real at all.

This books shows depression in an unique light. There are some things that happen that are in the fantasy-type realm, but it makes such a hard subject (depression, suicide) not seem as heavy. It is an interesting concept to read and some of the characters are a lot of fun. Overall, this is a very entertaining read while tackling some very hard issues!

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

This may have been a little outside my wheelhouse, but I still enjoyed it.

Max Dorigan has been battling depression for awhile and has tried all the remedies and nothing has worked. After a failed suicide attempt, she is almost willing to try anything to "cure" her depression and start living a healthy and happy life. So off she goes to the Caribbean and where she ends up is the story.

So I am not a magical realism/fantasy girl, but with a majority of human characters this danced the line enough for me. If you aren't one to read a book with some fantastical elements, try this one, it was a good combination of real world and fantasy world.

[Shanna Loewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Dorigan has battled depression her entire life. At 25, she is willing to do just about anything to overcome this depression. Max agrees to join the "Lucidity Project" which is being conducted at a medical retreat/center. Upon arrival she realizes that everyone there has been dealing with something trying. She soon learns that the other participants believe they have psychic ability and that Max is a ghost. After learning how to enter one another's dreams "astral plane" they all begin to communicate and work to figure out the root of their issues. The entire story is more journey than tale and will keep readers engaged.

[Alison Preece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read YA novels but I thought the idea of New Age fiction was intriguing. So I checked out this book, and I'm so glad I did!

Cook does a great job of weaving in New Age concepts and experiences with an engaging story line. The main character is a neurotic depressive, which you wouldn't think would be a recipe for comedy, but Cook writes it in such a way that you are laughing with the characters even while you feel for them.

I really liked the turns the story took, too, and Cook's ability to keep us guessing.

It's a light-hearted read that still managed to make me laugh and think new things. I ended up downloading a book about astral travel when I was done! Ha :)

[amber [ cozynaturereads] ☁️🌞💗 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Literally took me a month to read

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end wasn't my cup of tea but the adventure was still worth the ride.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like the ending, but otherwise a enjoyable read