The Poppy Fields A novel

It's an accepted truism that grief is universal, but what if one could opt to sleep through the pain? As in her best-selling debut, The Measure (2022), Erlick's second novel features characters who have an unusual, provocative choice: grieving people can go to California's Poppy Fields laboratory, and sleep through one or two months of pain. Created by a brilliant scientist, this innovation is free and purports to move people through the worst of their sorrow. But not all patients who apply are accepted, and there is a considerable side effect: one quarter of sleepers awake with "emotional moderation," which involves feeling neutral toward the person they lost. Three strangers traveling to Poppy Fields meet in the Kansas City airport, when a tornado delays their flight. Desperate to reach their destination, they opt to share the last rental car and embark on an uneasy road trip. Ray needs to know why his brother died after his sleep; Ava wants to see her estranged sister at the facility; and Sasha's fiancé died just before their wedding. Along the way, they meet free-spirited, 18-year-old Sky, who teaches the trio unique lessons. Erlick's absorbing sophomore work beautifully explores grief, healing, and acceptance.

In this alluring if slow-moving speculative adventure from Erlick (The Measure), four strangers travel together across the U.S. to an experimental and controversial psychotherapy center. Patients at the Poppy Fields, a lab in the California desert, are given a month of restorative sleep, and most wake up with their grief behind them. Some, however, are prone to a notorious side effect, which causes them to lose all affection for their loved ones. Ray, a firefighter, is on a mission to understand why his younger brother, Johnny, died after receiving treatment at the Poppy Fields. Joining him on the trip is Ava, a children's book illustrator hoping to reconnect with her wayward sister after the death of the grandmother who raised them; and Sasha, an occupational therapist who harbors guilt over ending things with her fiancé. Along the way, they pick up teen hitchhiker Sky, whose zest and curiosity causes the other three to open up about their reasons for going to the Poppy Fields. Erlick weighs down the narrative with a prolonged setup and extended backstories, but the character work is top notch, especially as the seemingly disparate travelers find common ground in their resilience. Once this poignant road novel gets going, readers will be in no rush to see it end. Agent: Cindy Uh, CAA. (June)