A deliciously dark fable of the psyche that explores the twilight margins of the cerebral and the supernatural – Sebastian Beaumont’s The Lost Sessions is set to shock, challenge, and enlighten fiction fans this spring.
The Lost Sessions tells of Will, a psychotherapist whose journey into the surreal begins when he is knocked from his bike by a hit-and-run driver. As Will recovers from the resulting concussion, he finds himself in a curious vortex of shifting realities, at the centre of which is Emma, a young woman determined to secure Will as her therapist and who claims to be dead. She also seems to know a lot more about Will’s shadowed past than she should
Whilst most of this psycho-supernatural story is set in London, author Beaumont draws upon his Scottish upbringing, setting significant parts of the backstory in Dumfriesshire, Edinburgh, and the Cairngorms. The concept of what it means to be Scottish is also explored throughout.
The Lost Sessions follows the success of Beaumont’s surrealist page turners, Thirteen and The Juggler. Conceived as a triptych, each of these novels is a stand-alone story in its own right. In each, the protagonist needs to undertake a journey through his own self-awareness if he is to emerge unscathed from his predicament. Thirteen explores personal psychological history, The Juggler looks at metaphysical aspects of human nature, and The Lost Sessions explores the transcendental position, posing the question – what happens when Egoic ‘me’ is absent?
Asked what he thinks readers may learn about the human psyche after reading The Lost Sessions, Beaumont explains; “The idea of ‘being in control’ is a recipe for suffering. Let life seduce you into living – and being lived. If we give ourselves up to life it will reward us with an ever-unfolding adventure. It will challenge us, reward us, and change us for the better.”
Sebastian Beaumont’s The Lost Sessions, published by Myrmidon Books Ltd, is available in hardback and as an eBook from 22nd March 2022.
