The Enlightenment Project

Book excerpt: Cutting-edge science meets demonic possession: the long-awaited new supernatural thriller from award-winning author Lynn Hightower. "Sensitive characterizations match the imaginative plot. Readers will compulsively turn the pages to see how it all ends" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review Have you ever known anyone who survived being possessed? You do now. You’ve met me. Noah Archer is a renowned neurosurgeon, with an impressive success record. He has a happy home, with his beloved wife Moira, their two adopted sons, and a dog who's a very good girl. But Noah keeps a dark secret, shared only with his old friend Father Perry Cavanaugh. When he was just a boy, he was possessed by a demon - and it was only thanks to the exorcist priest that he survived. Now, Noah works at the cutting of edge of medical science and religion, researching the effects of spirituality on the brain. His current research study - The Enlightenment Project - promises breakthrough treatments for depression, addiction and mental illness, and preliminary results are astounding. But after a late-night emergency surgery, Noah returns to his office to find Father Perry waiting for him, with a terrible warning. The Enlightenment Project may not be closing the door to the darkness at all . . . but instead letting it in. Demonic possession is now a recognized psychiatric condition, and the number of exorcist priests in the US has quadrupled in the last decade. As well as being a thrilling read, THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT is an intelligent and fascinating view into the complex worlds of both the medical and the supernatural.