Preparing for Nothingness: A Novel

by Alan Lightman

A profound and moving novel about life, death, and what might follow from the critically acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams.

"I didn't have a happy life," Ludvig Bergsson's father told him shortly before his death. Haunted by these words, Ludvig grapples with his father's memory, charting the landscape of his eighty-seven-years. He had not seemed particularly discontent, but at some point, something must have shifted. Or, perhaps, it had been a slow and gradual decline. Had these been the words of a delirious and ailing man, or the truth as his father saw it?

Troubled by these unanswered questions, Ludvig suggests that his university's next annual symposium address one of life's greatest  How might we prepare for its inevitable end? Each guest lecturer—an Argentinian psychologist, an astrophyscist, a troubled philosopher, a Christian theologian, a hospice worker, and a Buddhist monk—grapple with the question of what it means to live a good life, and how to make peace not only with death, but with what may or may not follow. As he listens to their presentations, Ludvig thinks not only of his father, but his own life and family, and the simple and unexpected ways in which he can find new meaning.

Heartfelt and insightful, Preparing for Nothingness is a poignant reflection on life's intractable impermanence and how one can find solace in the face of life's greatest mystery.

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication December 1, 2026

About the author

Alan Lightman is an American writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. Born in 1948, he was educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a PhD in theoretical physics. He has received five honorary doctoral degrees. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities. He is currently professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. His scientific research in astrophysics has concerned
black holes, relativity theory, radiative processes, and the dynamics of systems of stars. His essays and articles have appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper’s, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Salon, and many other publications. His essays are often chosen by the New York Times as among the best essays of the year. He is the author of 6 novels, several collections of essays, a memoir, and a book-length narrative poem, as well as several books on science. His novel Einstein’s Dreams was an international bestseller and has been the basis for dozens of independent theatrical and musical adaptations around the world. His novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the National Book Award. His most recent books are The Accidental Universe, which was chosen by Brain Pickings as one of the 10 best books of 2014, his memoir Screening Room, which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the best books of the year for 2016,
and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine (2018), an extended meditation on science and religion – which was the basis for an essay
on PBS Newshour. Lightman is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the founder of the Harpswell Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to advance a new generation of women leaders in Southeast Asia.” He has received the gold medal for humanitarian service from the government of Cambodia.