Ben Backus and the Quest for Cosmic Consciousness

It's the summer of 1982 in San Francisco, a time before cell phones and the Internet. Michael is an underpaid, retail microcomputer salesperson struggling to find his place in the world when Ben Backus--a philosophy professor on a personal mission to experience a big realization about human existence--appears. Michael's reaction to the man with the startling intellect who has suddenly come into his life is often uncertain and humorous.

Over the summer--along with visits to Golden Gate Park, the Shakespeare Garden, the de Young Museum, Fort Funston Beach, and Mount Davidson--Ben shares his ideas about being and identity, as well as his insights into the Greek god Dionysus, Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, James, Spengler, Sartre, Jung, and others.

Will Ben inspire Michael to change the circumstances of his own life? And, more importantly, will Ben find a way to experience the big realization known as cosmic consciousness before he has to return to the Midwest for the start of the school year?

Get ready for the education of a lifetime. Get ready for a host of emotional, comical, and illuminating surprises. Then come face to face with the star-exploding wonder that lies beneath the surface of everyday reality, waiting to be realized.

"Compelling and immersive, with an unexpected ending..."--Publisher's Weekly BookLife

"Replete with ideas for serious contemplation..."--Reedsy Discovery