A Matter of Life and Death: The Importance of Being Kane: 1 - Softcover

Ablow, Keith

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798890224705

Publisher: Speaking Volumes, LLC, 2026

Synopsis

From New York Times Bestselling Author Keith Ablow

Alex Kane, a brilliant but deeply troubled hedge fund manager, has built a fortune predicting market movements—yet he is powerless to control the quiet collapse of his own life. Haunted by his father’s suicide, shaped by his mother’s alcoholism, and hollowed out by a success that feels increasingly meaningless, Kane reaches a breaking point. His marriage disintegrates. His partners force him out of the firm he built. And his beloved dog Abel—his last steady source of unconditional love—is dying. Alone and unraveling, Kane contemplates ending it all.

Instead, he conceives an audacious alternative: if his life feels broken beyond repair, he will rewrite it.

Enter Hank Kline, a once-celebrated Hollywood director now desperate for relevance. Kane hires him to stage an elaborate rebirth—a meticulously engineered existence in a small New England town, partly populated with actors, scripted encounters, and carefully orchestrated “coincidences” designed to manufacture meaning. Armed with a new name and altered appearance, Kane steps into the role of his own reinvention.

But immersion carries risks. As fabricated moments begin to feel disturbingly authentic, the boundary between performance and reality dissolves. Memories intrude. Control slips. And Kane must confront a dangerous question: can a man truly escape his past—or will every story, no matter how carefully rewritten, bend back toward its original ending?

"Keith Ablow is a spectacular writer. He has created a wonderful work of fiction.” —Matthew Modine, American Writer, Actor, Director and Producer

“Keith Ablow has written a literary masterpiece that asks and answers the question, 'Can a human being find the true self within?' Alex Kane is a hero for all of us." —Dr. Rock Positano, Co-author of Dinner with Dimaggio: Memories of an American Hero

"Aside from your obvious skill and sensitivity as a writer, much of what you say is truly enlightening . . . I was everywhere impressed . . . Keep up the splendid work.“ —William Styron (for To Wrestle with Demons), Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice

Praise for Keith Ablow

"Fascinating" —The New York Times (Compulsion)

“Great psychological suspense.” —Harlan Coben, New York Times Bestselling Author for Compulsion

“Utterly compelling . . .” Tess Gerritsen, NY Times Bestselling Author for Compulsion

"Keith Ablow is king of the psychological thriller." —Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River

“This is a deliciously creepy psychological thriller. Denial is a start and terrifying journey into the mind of the criminally insane, an absolutely spellbinding and shocking tale.” —Nelson DeMille, author of By the Rivers of Babylon for Denial

Keith Ablow is the New York Times bestselling author of Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson, and The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life (co-authored by Glenn Beck)

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist who graduated Brown University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 16 books, including Living the Truth, The Seven Wonders (co-authored with Glenn Beck) and Trump Your Life. He was the host of the nationally-syndicated Dr. Keith Ablow Show (Warner Brothers) and then, for a decade, a national Fox News Network Contributor on topics including psychology, business and politics. He has also appeared hundreds of times on The Today Show, Good Morning America, 20/20, Oprah, Dr. Oz, Inside Edition and a host of other national television broadcasts. Dr. Ablow was the creator and on-air expert for Cancel Contagion, which aired during 2021 on Newsmax TV. He has been a columnist for the New York Post and the Washington Post, as well as a frequent contributor to USA Today, The New York Times, Newsweek and many other publications. He is the founder of www.pain2power.com, a coaching platform that gives individuals and businesses the tools to actualize their true goals and highest potential.

Edition details

• Publisher: Speaking Volumes, LLC
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798890224705
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288