The Song of Life

Book excerpt: The Song of Life is a comedy about suffering and forgiveness. When 24-year-old Margaret Holly gets hit on the head with a Hindu scripture known as the Bhagavad Gita, she is propelled on a seven-year spiritual odyssey. During this time, she grieves a heartbreaking loss, forgives those who abused her, masters the practice of meditation, and comes to better understand the nature of the universe. Her journey introduces her to the inscrutabilities of brain science, the promise of Big Data, and-thanks to her charming, reckless cousin Roy-the colorfully brutal world of professional boxing. Elliott Fenwick is a college professor, an expert in predictive analytics, and a neurotic with lagging social skills who embarks on his own quirky odyssey and-despite himself-changes his and Margaret's lives forever. Meanwhile, far away and long ago, Arjuna-legendary warrior and hero of the Bhagavad Gita-enjoys his first day off in years. It's the eve of his legendary chariot ride with Krishna, the dialogue of which comprises the Bhagavad Gita's verses. At the end of the novel, Margaret's and Arjuna's worlds collide in an unexpected twist.