HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Have you ever wished for a do-over? To go back two steps or two hours or two days? Grab your tea or coffee and spend a few minutes today with the very thought-provoking Lori Gold. And see if your outlook on life gets changed a bit.
Is Any of This
Even Real?!
by Lori Gold
Apparently the answer to that is no. Or no-ish?
Recently, scientific articles originally published a couple of years ago have been popping up in my Instagram feed. (Side note: The adage of “be careful what you wish for” is being replaced by “be careful what you click on once.”)
The posts are from places like WIRED and people like Neil deGrasse Tyson, not unfamiliar sources, which I think makes what I’m about to say scarier? Because in each of them, there’s an argument being made that we’re living in a computer simulation. That none of this, everything around us, even us, is “real,” or at least what we consider “real.” The idea is apparently based on quantum theories and physics and all sorts of things we, as writers, pretend don’t exist because we live in a world of stories.
Wait a second…we live in a world of stories. To us, to writers and to many readers, our worlds are “real.” But they aren’t, objectively, right? That’s not the same as what these articles are proposing. They’re saying, and I’m talking 50-50 chance, that this is all some sort of elaborate video game (I’m paraphrasing). Like The Matrix (I’m assuming). That this universe and the lives we have were made up by something else, in this case, some super-duper-powerful computer (not a technical term). What if it’s true? Does that change the way we live? Should it?
This type of philosophical thinking has always interested me (more explanation for what pops up in my social media feed!). As a form of entertainment, grounded speculative is one of the genres I love, from TV shows like Lost to movies like Palm Springs, to books like This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major, and the list goes on.
Each one tackles some form of speculative element, be it time travel, a time loop like Groundhog Day, or parallel universes. And like the notion of living in a simulation, these are backed by scientific theory.
While writing my latest novel, a grounded speculative, I did a lot of research into quantum physics. My novel centers on three women who each make a choice while playing the conversation game, kiss, marry, kill and wind up in an alternate universe where they have to live out the choices they made—and their consequences. This led me down the rabbit hole of the multiverse and many-worlds interpretation. The theory goes (and remember, I write fiction, so grain of salt!) that every time a decision is made, the outcome not taken branches off into a different reality. Every time. That means the universe has split and is still splitting into near-infinite alternatives.
Theoretically, then, we have lived and are living every version of our life. I became obsessed with what that means for us on a very personal level, especially, the pressure we all put on ourselves every day to make the “right” choice. As if this job or that partner or that cute, tassely-throw pillow from Target will solve our every problem.
If we get to live every version of our life, what does that do to this idea of making the “perfect” choice? What does it do for you personally and the way you make decisions? Would you want to get the chance to live another version of your life? What would you hope to be? Who would you hope is there with you?
Ultimately, I think that’s what these scientific theories that show up in my feed and these stories we writers build from them do: they make us think about who we are, who we hoped to be, and hopefully encourage us to close the gap.
HANK: I am living this particularly right now, and it leads me to wonder whether–and I’m not talking about the moral ethical “right” decision, but a physical choice of A thing or B thing, either of which could be fine but there’s no way to know. And there’s no way to know, because that would mean we could predict each and every thing that would come after the decision, which is impossible.
(And I adore speculative fiction. WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME is one of the best books I've ever read.)
What do you think, Reds and Readers?Would you want to get the chance to live another version of your life? What would you hope to be? Who would you hope is there with you?
And Lori, congratulations on the new book!
About the Author
Lori Gold is the author of KISS, MARRY, KILL (Harper/Park Row, April 7, 2026) and the NPR Book of the Day and Zibby Media Summer Read pick ROMANTIC FRICTION (Harper/MIRA 2025). She is also the author of an adult historical and four novels for young adults (all under Lori Goldstein). She currently lives outside of Boston, where she fosters a writing community through her creative writing classes, book coaching, and writing retreats. She can be found on Instagram (@lorigoldsteinbooks;) and at http://www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com.
Kiss, Marry, Kill
Which would you choose: kiss, marry, or kill?
When three best friends and founders of a health and wellness app on the verge of hitting the big time play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their company’s summer outing, they wake up the next morning in an alternate universe to discover they’ve each done just that.
Kiss: In the “real world,” quiet, indecisive Aubrey is heartbroken over things ending with her fiancé. In the new reality ushered in by the game, Aubrey finds herself in bed, naked, next to their company’s newly hired graphic designer.
Marry: Practical, straight-laced Ilena, on the brink of a divorce following a stressful struggle with infertility, wakes up six months pregnant and married to their company’s general counsel.
Kill: Mallory’s philosophy is to ask neither forgiveness nor permission. Yet the reckless behavior of their biggest investor crosses lines even Mallory didn’t know she had. Especially since she’s been secretly sleeping with him for the past year. She’s mad enough to kill. But in this world, he’s already dead.
Told alternately from the perspectives of these three best friends, this Sliding Doors-esque story explores the nuances of ambition, the power of female friendship, and the many facets of love in our lives, ultimately asking: Do our choices define us, or do we define our choices?
IF YOU WANT TO Link to the books mentioned, here they are:
This Time Tomorrow
Midnight Library https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-midnight-library-a-gma-book-club-pick-a-novel-matt-haig/0e23137cd6964727?ean=9780525559498&next=t
One Italian Summer https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-italian-summer-a-novel-rebecca-serle/69509ba44a56aa62?ean=9781982166809&next=t
Maybe Next Time https://bookshop.org/p/books/maybe-next-time-a-reese-witherspoon-book-club-pick-cesca-major/5c485651b2067904?ean=9780063239975&next=t
Congratulations, Lori, on your new book . . . definitely on my must-read list as now I'm wondering how Aubrey, Ilena, and Mallory deal with the changes they encounter in their alternate universes . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm not certain I would want to give up the people in my life in the hopes of finding them in another version of my life. And suppose I despised that alternate version? It seems too fraught with disappointments to wish for that opportunity [but it would be great fun to speculate about what an alternate version might be like] . . . .
Lori, you have a great concept for this book. Predestination played out in full. That's so interesting. I was just having a conversation with a friend about how we might all be living at different times in different lives, but at the same time. I would like to get to live another version of my life, but, of course, that has so much to do with my son being murdered three years ago the end of this month. I am certain Kevin, my son, would still be in whatever version of life I live or have lived. I believe in the concept of soul groups, and I know he and I are in the same one. There are some others who I think are in my soul group, but I know there would be plenty of surprises, too. I think during this one life we're living now that we live so many different lives, from childhood until death. We are different people in our life at different times. And, I've become much more open to the thought that we have more than one lifetime. I don't know if we do, but there is some interesting evidence that points to it, like small children remembering things from a past life. The possibilities are wide open.
ReplyDelete