"Stranger to Myself" by Jennifer Svendsen

In the novel "Stranger to Myself" by Jennifer Svendsen, the main character, Rebekah Lark, has a supernatural experience where she switches bodies with another character known as Caroline. Both characters had been in comas at the same time, and Rebekah had earlier had difficulties with out-of-body experiences due to an accident that resulted in brain damage and serious migraines.

This novel takes a very philosophical approach to identity and the soul, while combining that approach with psychological facts. It also addresses the difficulties of modern diagnosis.

For example, Rebekah is seen as "crazy" since her experience is completely undocumented. However, her difficulties show in depth not only the intricacies of human identity but also the struggles that both families and people suffering from a mental disability truly have to face in an unusual situation, bringing to life intricate struggles readers may not have to consider in their daily lives.

The main character points out that many of the solutions to various different mental ailments or disabilities are drugs with nasty side effects, or treatments that can be difficult to go through or watch a loved one be impacted by, such as the electroshock treatment Rebekah agrees to undergo later in the novel. Her family struggles with the reality of her condition and both the medical solutions, and refusing treatments threaten to tear the family apart.

While I did enjoy this book quite a lot, the ending was somewhat disappointing to me in that it was very open-ended when I was looking for resolution. It didn't feel as though Rebeckah finished her story. For example, Rebekah does not tell her new husband that she is pregnant before the end of the book, leaving the reader to speculate on how that unfolds.

On the other hand, the ending leaves the reader pondering how Rebekah chooses to live her life in the future, after she decided to only half combine her life, if not her identity, with Caroline's.

Svendsen's novel is a provocative examination of life choices and mental health that engages the reader throughout.