Wakefield

Picture Wakefield: He's divorced, lives alone in a comfortable, book-filled apartment in a sophisticated city. A motivational speaker, his talks leave audiences dispirited and anxious. But for this peculiar talent, he's in demand. Then one day the Devil shows up, walks right into Wakefield's tasteful living room, and says, "Time's up." As literary Fausts have done for centuries, Wakefield makes a bargain with Satan, who, as it turns out, is having his own existential crisis due to bureaucratic headaches and younger upstart demons in the afterworld. The Devil gives Wakefield a year to find an authentic life -- or else it's curtains. So Wakefield travels across the country meeting New Age gurus, billionaire techno-geeks, global pioneers, gambling addicts, models, venture capitalists, art collectors, rainforest protectors, and S and M strippers. Andrei Codrescu is a commentator for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, an essayist, filmmaker, poet, and author of the best-selling novels The Blood Countess and Messiah, among other books. Reader Jeff Woodman was named one of AudioFile Magazine's "Best voices of the century."