The Grief Reader

Vivian Marsh never believed in anything she couldn't count-until she discovered that other people's belief could be converted into cash. After a lucky guess about flooding goes viral, Vivian transforms her Manhattan apartment into a lucrative operation, offering grieving clients what they desperately want: messages from their dead loved ones. The doorman logs each visitor. The building management watches. And Vivian collects hundreds of dollars per session, all while mocking her clients at private parties with friends. But when management threatens eviction and produces photographic evidence of her illegal enterprise, Vivian's carefully constructed con begins to collapse. Forced to confront the damage she's caused, she attempts to return the money-only to discover that some truths hurt more than comfortable lies. As Vivian struggles to rebuild an honest life on minimum wage, she must face the real reason she became a fake psychic: her own unresolved grief over a mother who died without recognizing her daughter. Through confrontations with former clients and painful self-examination, Vivian learns that the hardest person to forgive is yourself. Dark, compelling, and unflinchingly honest, THE GRIEF READER explores the seamy world of psychic fraud while asking uncomfortable questions about comfort, truth, and the price we pay for exploiting human vulnerability. P. A. Farrell is a psychologist and published author with McGraw-Hill, Springer Publishing, Cafe Lit, Ravens Perch, Humans of the World, Active Muse, Free Spirit Publishing, Scarlet Leaf Review, 100 Word Project, Woodcrest Magazine, Confetti, and LitBreak. She's a top health writer for Medium.com, has published self-help books, and is a board member of Clinics4Life. She lives on the East Coast of the US.