Dr Joanna Lander, a psychologist specializing in near-death experiences, agrees to take part in an experiment that simulates the NDE.

The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai is Ruiyan Xu's dazzling debut novel about the power of love and language... Li Jing, a successful, happily married businessman, is dining at a grand hotel in Shanghai when a gas explosion shatters the building. A shard of glass neatly pierces Li Jing's forehead-obliterating his ability to speak Chinese. The only words that emerge from his mouth are faltering phrases of the English he spoke as a child growing...

"Chicago obstetrician Mackenzie 'Mac' Huntress set her standards for men very high early on. It's been over twenty years since she fell for a fictional movie heartthrob, and Mac's content to wait for the real version to come along; it's her nagging mother who's not happy with the timeline. So Mac falls back on her lifelong Mom-surviving skill--lying. The latest fabrication: a handsome neurologist named Michael. Pity he's too busy to meet her friends...