Preparing for Nothingness audiobook by Alan Lightman
Narrated by Euan Morton (2026)
Pre-order the audiobook on Audible
About the novel
“I didn’t have a happy life,” Ludvig Bergsson’s father told him shortly before he died. Haunted by those words, Ludvig sets out to take the measure of his father’s eighty-seven years. Had they come from a delirious, ailing man, or were they simply the truth as his father saw it?
Unable to let the question rest, Ludvig proposes that his university’s next annual symposium should tackle one of life’s greatest challenges: how to prepare for its inevitable end. Six guest speakers take the stage — an Argentinian psychologist, an astrophysicist, a troubled philosopher, a Christian theologian, a hospice worker and a Buddhist monk — each offering a different answer to what it means to live a good life, and to make peace with death and with whatever may or may not follow. As he listens, Ludvig reflects on his father, his own life and his family, and on the small, unexpected ways in which new meaning can be found.
Preparing for Nothingness is a tender meditation on impermanence and on the solace that can be found in the face of life’s greatest mystery, from the author of the international bestseller Einstein’s Dreams.
Critical reception of the novel
The following praise is for the print edition of Preparing for Nothingness.
About Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman holds a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology and is the author of seven novels, among them the international bestseller Einstein’s Dreams and The Diagnosis, a National Book Award finalist. His non-fiction includes The Accidental Universe, Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine and Probable Impossibilities. He has taught at Harvard and at MIT, where he was the first person to hold a joint faculty appointment in science and the humanities, and is now a professor of the practice of the humanities. He also hosts the public television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science.
Publication Details
Preparing for Nothingness: A Novel
Frequently asked questions
Who narrates the audiobook of Preparing for Nothingness?
The audiobook of Alan Lightman’s Preparing for Nothingness is narrated by Euan Morton and produced by Random House Audio.
When is the Preparing for Nothingness audiobook released?
The audiobook is scheduled for release on December 1, 2026, the same date as the Pantheon print edition. It can already be pre-ordered on Audible.
How long is the audiobook?
Penguin Random House lists the audiobook download at approximately 7 hours.
What is Preparing for Nothingness about?
It follows Ludvig Bergsson, who is haunted by his father’s dying words (“I didn’t have a happy life”) and organises a university symposium on how to prepare for the end of life. Six speakers, including a hospice worker, a theologian and a Buddhist monk, each offer a different perspective on living well and on making peace with death.
Who is Alan Lightman?
Alan Lightman is a physicist and novelist, the author of Einstein’s Dreams and The Diagnosis (a National Book Award finalist), and a professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT.
Where can I pre-order the audiobook?
The audiobook is available to pre-order on Audible (ASIN B0GZJLYXXB).
Links
Preparing for Nothingness: Audible | Penguin Random House | Amazon | Alan Lightman at Penguin Random House