In Transcendent Kingdom, Gifty, a PhD candidate in neuroscience at Stanford, is driven by personal tragedy—her brother’s opioid overdose and her mother’s debilitating depression—to explore the biological roots of addiction and despair. While she immerses herself in scientific research, her past pulls at her: the evangelical faith of her Ghanaian upbringing, once a source of hope, now a puzzle she can’t quite abandon.

Torn between science and religion, reason and belief, Gifty searches for meaning in the aftermath of loss. Yaa Gyasi’s powerful novel is a haunting, intimate exploration of a family’s pain, and the complex ways we seek healing.