Lincoln in the Bardo
Book Description
In February 1862, as America tears itself apart in civil war, President Lincoln faces a more intimate battle when his eleven-year-old son Willie succumates to illness in the White House. Historical accounts tell us that the grieving father returned repeatedly to his child's Georgetown cemetery crypt, unable to let go of the boy he called "too good for this earth."
From this documented moment of profound parental anguish, a remarkable narrative unfolds that transcends the boundaries between historical reality and spiritual exploration. Willie Lincoln awakens in an otherworldly realm where departed souls gather in various states of transition and unrest. This liminal space, known in Tibetan Buddhist teaching as the bardo, becomes the setting for an extraordinary struggle over the young boy's eternal destiny.
Within this supernatural purgatory, ghostly inhabitants engage in endless conversations, conflicts, and peculiar rituals of atonement. Their interactions reveal both the absurd and terrifying aspects of existence between life and death. As Willie navigates this strange afterlife community, forces beyond the physical world wage war for his soul.
This genre-defying work weaves together America's darkest historical period with profound questions about love, loss, and what lies beyond mortal existence. Through the lens of one family's devastating grief, readers encounter a unique meditation on death, spiritual transition, and the enduring bonds that connect us across realms both seen and unseen.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~10 hours)
📄 Length: 368 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore FICTION / Historical
- ✓ Explore Historical fiction
- ✓ Explore LGBTQ historical fiction
- ✓ Explore Fiction
- ✓ Navigate the process of grief
- ✓ Explore Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 - Fiction
- ✓ Explore Presidents - United States - Fiction
- ✓ Explore Purgatory
