The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose

The Man Who Turned Into Himself is a great mind-bending mystery written by David Ambrose.

Businessman Rick Hamilton has a premonition at work that his wife and child are in a car accident. When he arrives at the scene, he sees Anne pinned under the car, dying. He manages to save their son Charlie from the wreck.

And then, Anne is standing beside him, comforting him, as he was the one in the accident. He asks about their son, but they have no son.

He is now another man with another life - now a real estate developer named Richard Hamilton, still married to Anne, though without a child or a happy marriage. Rick's consciousness battles with Richard until they realize they have to work out what has happened together. Is it possible Rick can return to his previous life?

This is based on the 'many worlds' theory of quantum physics, which posits parallel universes. Each decision you make splits off into two paths: the choice you made and the choice you declined, and a new universe (or timeline, or history) is created. Seeing through Richard's eyes, in his timeline John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Marilyn Monroe are still alive. His best friend remains Harold, but in the new universe, Harold is having an affair with Anne. Rick (trapped inside) learns to let Richard do all the talking so he wouldn't sound insane, and sends Richard to people he knew in his previous existence who could help decipher the story, and possibly help Rick return to his own past/future.

Niels Bohr pioneered this theory in the twenties, and although it is mind-bending, there is scientific evidence to back up the theories described in the book. I love both fiction and non-fiction books like these, as this wild idea is seemingly impossible. There is a universe where I didn't read this book, another where I did, so many forks in the road.

The book gets wilder as it moves deeper into mental analysis. They discover that Richard can be hypnotized, but not Rick, allowing Rick to tell his story. Then they hypnotize Rick to regress back into his past to a time before the car accident, possibly preventing it. He achieves this, but it's no longer the same life; the timeline had changed.

This is a thinker's mystery that travels in ways I can only touch on. If this sounds complex, I have only shared the tip of the story! Fascinating and involving. Cause and effect.

This twister is highly recommended.

2008 / Paperback / 197 pages