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A psychologist sets out to understand the uncanny phenomenon of felt presence.
We all know the feeling: you’re alone but it’s like there’s someone there with you – a mysterious presence lurking just out of sight. Throughout history this experience has been the subject of religious and supernatural speculation. But does science have the answer?
In Presence, psychologist Ben Alderson-Day digs into historical accounts and contemporary cases of ‘felt presence’, hunting for the key to unlock this strange phenomenon. He interviews ultrarunners and ocean rowers, who often report the sensation of being accompanied on their journeys, and examines the latest work on sleep paralysis, dementia and Parkinson’s, conditions closely associated with feeling the presence of someone or something that isn’t there.
His findings, built on cutting-edge research from psychology and neuroscience, provide remarkable new insights into this longstanding mystery of the human mind.
Winner of the British Psychological Society 2023 Book Award for Popular Science
'Presence is a fascinating read. The writing is lively and the stories are compelling. Thanks to Alderson-Day, the mysterious world of visions, voices and ghostly presences is just that bit more understandable.'
Jason Arunn Murugesu, New Scientist
'Alderson-Day's book reminds us that, if we seriously investigate the most inexplicable claims that people make, we can often learn a great deal about how our brains work - and about some deeply human experiences.'
Stuart Ritchie, iNews
'Those interested in developing a richer understanding of the phenomenon will appreciate Alderson-Day's in-depth exploration of the topic and detailed endnotes.'
Library Journal
'Alderson-Day's wonderful book truly represents such an intellectual experience and is a rare achievement as well as being a delight to read.'
Alastair Morgan, The Polyphony
'This book is an excellent and enjoyable discourse on the topic, written engagingly for a general reader, and covering much associated ground.'
Graham Kidd, Journal of the Society of Psychical Research
'An eye-opening book that makes senses of one of life's mysteries. It has stayed with me.'
Claudia Hammond, author of The Art of Kindness
'Absorbing and accessible, Presence is a clear and vivid exploration of an elusive subject. Alderson-Day shines a light on the diversity and complexity of our lived experiences, and how we perceive the world.'
Jenny Kleeman, author of The Price of Life
'An absorbing exploration of the uncanny experience of sensing the presence of someone, or something, when there's no one there. Ben Alderson-Day is a fine storyteller, and there's no one better qualified to guide us through this misty field of human psychology. We gain some genuine insights into the nature of consciousness and selfhood along the way. Brilliant!'
Paul Broks, author of The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars
'Alderson-Day offers a thrilling and erudite survey of the experience of "felt presence" - where one has the strong feeling that someone, or something, is there, but without any input from our traditional senses. The book brings together rich testimonies of this core human experience, with the insights of myth, history, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry. Reading it leaves one with an enriched appreciation of what we are and how much more we have yet to understand about ourselves.'
Matthew Broome, Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health and Director of the Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham
'The sense that you are not alone - that someone or something is "there" - is a fascinating topic and this marvellous book draws across many different kinds of experiences to give a coherent account of the kinds of processes that underlie this feeling.'
Sophie Scott, Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London
