I am Dr. Wayne C Dees, a clinical neuropsychologist and an award-winning screenwriter turned novelist. This is my first novel, which was initially a short story and became an award-winning movie.

These are indeed troubling times. As a neuropsychologist for the past 20 years, I have become acutely aware of the increasing division among us, socially, emotionally as well as politically, which impacts us all.

I have been moved by the struggles we face, as well as the bitter and deep divisions between us, not only as Americans but universally. Deep-seated divides and increasingly stark disagreements between us have become more prevalent over the past ten years – relating to the economy, racial injustices, law enforcement, climate change, international engagement, core “American” values, Christian conservatism, and a long list of other issues which many fear may lead to lasting and irreparable harm to our democracy. ALTERED PERCEPTIONS delves into these issues and more contemporaneously.

As a society, we have rarely been as polarized as we are today, and I feel that one of the root causes of our polarization is the harsh rhetoric that characterizes our political leanings. From these experiences sprang the decision to write ALTERED PERCEPTIONS, which was released as an award-winning motion picture in 2023.

Although American exceptionalism preceded the coronavirus outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic further revealed just how pervasive the divide in American society is at this time, with most of the country believing that we are more ideologically divided now than before the outbreak. Disagreements relating to scientific trust, COVID-19 vaccinations, mask-wearing, contract tracing, fake news, truth vs. opinion, and public and policy response to the crisis have surely changed our lives in unprecedented ways.