The Effects of Isolation on the Brain

By Erika Rummel

There are many forms of isolation, and Ellie is becoming an expert on them: unloved and ignored as a child in Vienna, up against cultural barriers in Canada, holed up in a cabin in the north. What are the effects of isolation on the brain? Is it loneliness and boredom that makes Ellie take risks and say yes to Vera, her glamorous but deeply disturbed friend? Vera has been abused as a child and is now putting her trust in a charlatan healer. Together they entangle Ellie in a murderous game of fantasy and revenge. Marooned on the shores of a frozen lake, Ellie must make her way out of the Canadian bush and the wilderness of her own soul. It is a journey through hostile territory – neglect, deceit, confusion, betrayal – but Ellie is a fighter. All she needs to survive is a soulmate. Don’t we all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inanna Poetry and Fiction Series
• Release date: Sep 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781771333122

Erika Rummel

Erika Rummel has taught at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto. She has published numerous books on Renaissance history and is the author of nine historical novels. A recipient of the prestigious Getty fellowship and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Renaissance Society of America, she divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles.

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