THE WEIGHT OF OPEN SPACES

From the isolation of a rural childhood to the depths of a medical residency crisis, Samuel Morrison learned early how to be alone. But loneliness and solitude are not the same thing—a distinction he would spend decades learning. In this literary novel spanning from 1974 to 2018, Samuel's journey unfolds across open spaces: the farmland of his youth, the suffocating corridors of medical school, and the emotional voids he carries within himself. As a brilliant but deeply disconnected young man, he builds a life of achievement while remaining fundamentally untethered—until a breaking point forces him to confront the depression he's spent years outrunning. Through therapy, unexpected love, and the slow work of learning to be truly present, Samuel discovers that the open spaces that once defined his loneliness might become something else entirely: a place to build connection, purpose, and home. "The Weight of Open Spaces" is a meditation on isolation and intimacy, mental health and healing, and the transformative power of showing up—for ourselves and for those we love. It's a story about what it takes to come home, and what home really means.